Phantom Martyr
by Jncera
Summary: In the days following Phantom Planet, Danny's life is perfect. But then, as a distraction, Vlad releases Dan Phantom, who kidnaps Sam. Now Danny has to choose: save the world and lose Sam forever, or save HIS world…and die. DxS. Full Summary inside.
1. Preface & Chapter 1

**Title:** Phantom Martyr

**Full Summary**: In the days following Phantom Planet, Danny's life is perfect: Sam is by his side, he's respected as a hero, Dash stops picking on him, and Vlad's nowhere to be found. Yet. As a distraction to more devious plans, Vlad releases Dan Phantom from Clockwork's tower, who then kidnaps Sam. Now Danny has to choose: save the world and lose Sam forever, or save _his_ world…and die. Major character exploration, including Danny and Sam's new relationship. DxS

Rated T just to be safe.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

[I posted Chapter 1 as a one-shot in "Puddles", but I've made a few revisions and the ending is different.]

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><p><strong>Preface<strong>

_Sam continued to stare defiantly into Dan Phantom's glowing red eyes. "He'll defeat you again."_

_Dan leaned back and laughed, a roar that echoed fiercely in the empty room. "You proved me wrong! You don't always state the painfully obvious. I'm not going to be the one to kill him," he said, holding Sam's angry gaze, "_You_ are." _

_Dan watched with satisfaction as Sam's eyes flickered with fear. _

"_You're his biggest weakness, Sam." Dan continued to circle slowly around Sam, like a ravenous wolf frightening his prey, "With you, I don't even need to lay a finger on Danny. I just give him a choice. Either you die," Dan stopped in front of Sam and leaned in, "Or _he_ dies."_

_Sam could feel hot tears burning her eyes. _No…

_Dan smirked as he watched Sam's face twist with emotion. "And we all know what selfless little Danny will do in that kind of situation."_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

_**Four Days Earlier…**_

Danny and Sam sat on a hill overlooking the city hall and the setting sun, and watched as Tucker—make that Mayor Tucker—presented the statue of Danny Phantom to the crowd.

"I can't believe you didn't want to attend your own ceremony," said Sam.

"Ehh," Danny replied, "You know me, I kind of like sitting on the sidelines sometimes." The two smiled, remembering their previous argument, but glad that it was all forgiven.

"And your folks are cool with knowing your secret identity?"

"Yeah, the time for secrets is over. The world is safe—time for new beginnings. My dad even says he wants me to team up with _him_ now—says I can be _his_ sidekick." Danny let out a small laugh, getting a fleeting mental image of him in an over-sized orange jumpsuit.

Sam paused. "You're a big star now. Probably the biggest in the world…"

"Yea, it's weird huh." Danny's smile got bigger. That was a non negotiable side-effect of saving the world, after all.

"You'll probably get pretty busy…"

"What else is new?"

"And…I probably won't see much of you anymore…" Sam looked sadly away.

"Aww I wouldn't count on that." Danny had been waiting for this moment ever since the world was saved, but it was hard to be alone with just Sam after all that press and media chaos of revealing his secret identity. He really didn't like the spot-light, but he guessed it was necessary and the world was curious, but all he had wanted was to be alone with his family and friends, especially Sam. He pulled out the ring that was always meant for only one girl from the very beginning, and took Sam's hand.

"Sam, I could have never have done any of this without you." Even though he had rehearsed this conversation a million times in his head, there were still nervous tremors coursing through his veins. Danny slipped the ring onto Sam's finger, "And I don't care what's coming next. I… just hope that whatever it is, you're there to share it with me."

Tears immediately sprung to Sam's eyes, and she smiled through them. _I can't believe this is actually happening._ She quickly wiped the tears away and looked at Danny. "I will be." She paused, and then added quickly while putting her hands on her hips, "I just have to warn you, I'm no pushover you know. I still have my own way of doing things."

Danny took her hands again and smiled. _That's my Sam._ "_That's_ what I'm counting on."

He stared into Sam's violet eyes, surprised that after all these years, they were still hypnotizing and by far the loveliest eyes in the world. He pulled Sam closer and they kissed for the second time—for real, no more fake-out-make-outs, no more wishing and hoping and praying, no more pretending while under spells—they were finally together. No more being clueless, shy, confused, jealous, frustrated, or heartbroken. After all that time of chasing Paulina and Valerie, Danny finally realized that everything he wanted and more was always right there next to him, encouraging him, fighting with him, and being his best friend. He _had_ been clueless. Their last kiss in Antarctica had a tone of farewell and sadness, and desperate longing. It had been quick because time was slipping away and the sharp jab of reality screamed for attention. Tonight's kiss however, stopped time and reality—it was only Danny and Sam under the blooming stars in a still purple sky. The kiss burned with intensity and passion, but most importantly, it was the start of a continuous flame of a conclusion finally met, and of a new beginning.

Danny and Sam slowly pulled away from the kiss and smiled. _Wow. They were right. Fireworks._

Danny stood up and transformed into a ghost and reached from Sam's hand. "What do you say; want to go for a ride? See where the future takes us?"

"Why not?" Sam stood up and allowed herself to be picked up, and Danny launched into the sky. They flew across City Hall and both gazed down at the statue of Danny Phantom.

"Cool statue," Sam smiled as she looked up at Danny, "Personally, I would have made it out of recycled materials, but, you know, that's just me."

Danny laughed, "You're not going to protest my own statue, are you? There's oh…only about a couple hundred around the world."

Sam kept smiling but didn't say anything. She was busy enjoying watching Amity Park from high in the sky in Danny's arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and snuggled into his chest.

Danny's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Or jump a mile. He tilted his head to Sam's and breathed in her scent—a soft mixture of lavender and something else—that charmed all his senses. "You know," he finally spoke, "they really ought to have made a statue of you and Tucker too. And of Jazz. And of my parents. Because honestly, without any of you guys, there would be no Danny Phantom. Or at least, the Danny Phantom that saved the world."

"How many more trees do you want to kill?"

"I believe the statues are made of stone. But we could just make yours out of newspapers and pizza boxes and tofu."

"Tucker would want his to be made of steak and ham and the flesh of other innocent animals."

"My dad would want his to be wearing an orange jumpsuit."

"Jazz won't ever stop trying to study the psychological effects of someone having a statue in every capital in the world."

"And Vlad won't ever stop drooling over my mom's statue."

"Speaking of Vlad," Sam said as she looked up at Danny, "What do you think happened to him?"

"Ehh," Danny chuckled, "He's probably sitting on some space rock being a free-roaming space nomad."

"Ha, serves him right. He really can't come back to earth anytime soon, with everyone knowing his secret identity and how he utterly and completely failed to save us while receiving the ire of every single nation." Sam paused, "I guess there's always the Ghost Zone?"

This prompted Danny to try his best imitation at Klemper's voice, "Vlaaaaad, will you be my frieeeeeend?" and started laughing, along with Sam.

Sam pitched her voice lower and waved her arms around, "Beware! For I am the box ghost! Fear my 100% recycled post-consumer cardboard boxes with Jack Fenton's face on them!"

Danny couldn't stop laughing. "Okay, that part about the '100% recycled post-consumer boxes' was all you! The Box Ghost would never say that!"

"Well, he should! And he should start using only recycled boxes."

"Somehow… I don't think he really cares."

The sky overhead was now completely dark blue, penetrated by twinkling stars and a perfect full moon that washed the world with a soft pearly glow. Danny landed at the entrance of the park, and transformed back to his human self while gently putting Sam down. They took each other's hand and started walking through the park. It felt so new to have their fingers intertwined, yet so also familiar at the same time. The park was deserted, and the only sounds that could be heard were the occasional distant bark of a dog or a lone car traveling past the park. After weeks of chaos, the peace was like a breath of fresh air after being trapped under dark stormy waters.

Memories surfaced as the pair walked around. Danny pointed to an open field, "That's where we had the picnic before the Box Ghost unleashed Pandora's box!"

"I still can't believe Tucker's afraid of snakes. What's wrong with snakes? They're cool!" Sam replied, and then pointed to a hill in the distance, "Hey, and that's where you attempted to train Cujo the ghost dog before Valerie attacked."

"Ah Cujo. He was kind of cute, but only when he was in his puppy form. And that," Danny said as he pointed to an area of dense bushes, "Was where we had our first fake-out-make-out." He stopped walking and wrapped both arms around Sam's waist, pulling her closer. "I kind of really enjoyed it."

Sam wrapped her arms around Danny's neck, and leaned in, "To tell you the truth, I enjoyed all our fake-out-make-outs." _Gosh he is so adorable. Look at those blue eyes. I could lose myself forever in those blue eyes, like drowning in an ocean, and by ocean, I mean his arms. And look at that smile. And those lips—_

Danny closed the gap between them and kissed her. _Will my head ever stop spinning whenever I do that?_

"No need for the fake-outs anymore," Danny whispered into Sam's lips.

Sam smiled and pulled Danny towards the grass. She lied down, put her arms behind her head, and gazed upwards at the stars, with Danny following next to her. They were both glad that none of the sparkling jewels in the velvet sky were hurtling down towards earth anymore, and lay in peaceful silence for a while.

Sam spoke first, "Did you still have some things you wanted to talk about? I…I'm still willing to listen."

"What?" It took a while for Danny to figure out she was referring to their conversation in Antarctica, "Oh. Umm…" He paused, searching for words, "Well, I was going to say that I like you, and have for a very long time…but I guess the kiss spoke for itself." He smiled, remembering. It was a bold move, but one that he was very glad to have made.

"Wait, for how long?"

"Umm," Danny ran his fingers through his hair. This part he hadn't thought about rehearsing, "When we danced together at the school dance last year. I couldn't help but see you in a new light. And that fear of almost losing you when you turned into that dragon… it was terrifying. I realized I never ever wanted to lose you because you meant so much more to me…" His voice trailed off and he turned and met Sam's eyes.

"Really?" asked Sam, surprised, "That long ago?"

"Really really."

"But you still went after Paulina, and Valerie…"

Danny sighed. "Those were small crushes that never lasted very long anyways. Sam you were my best friend. I…didn't want to jeopardize our friendship. And I didn't think you would ever like me back…"

Sam smiled. "Clueless!"

"Well, especially after the whole Gregor…Elliot…thing. I saw what kind of guy you liked, and I had _no_ idea how I would ever be that type. I still don't know why you like me…I mean, I'm not goth, I eat meat, I didn't have a cheesy pick-up line involving spaghetti when I kissed you, I-" Danny was cut short by Sam leaning over, grabbing the back of his head, and pulling him into a deep kiss. _Again with the head-world-spinning-thing!_

"True, you're none of those things," said Sam, when they finally pulled apart, "But you're Danny. You're a hero; you're _my_ hero. And _that's_ my type."

They stared at each other for a moment, smiling. "So," spoke Danny finally, "How long have _you_ liked me?"

Sam leaned back into the grass, "Umm…since…forever?"

"Really?"

"Really really." Sam chuckled.

"And you never told me?"

"For the same reason you didn't do anything either; I didn't want to ruin our friendship. And plus you were always going after Paulina and Valerie! I thought maybe you only liked shallow, insecure, annoying, popular, murderous girls."

"Have you felt how hard you can kick in those boots, Sam? I think you qualify as murderous!" Danny laughed and brought his arms up to shield his face from Sam's light punch.

"But seriously," continued Sam, "There were moments when I was close to telling you…like before you went to go fight with Pariah Dark, and the Ecto-Acne incident—"

"We had the same dream."

"What?" Sam sharply turned her gaze to Danny, who was staring at the sky.

"We had the same dream. When Frightmare attacked Amity Park."

Sam paused. "You mean… we both dreamt that…" She stopped and blushed.

Danny laughed nervously and turned to look at Sam. "Yeah. We both dreamt that we were together at school and about to kiss."

Sam grinned, blushing slightly. "Weird. Gateway to the subconscious huh." That was a really good dream…minus the part about Dash Baxter being Danny Phantom.

"Speaking of school," spoke Danny, "I wonder what it's going to be like when we go back next Monday."

"Lots of autograph-asking."

"Lots of 'lovebirds'-calling."

"Lots and lots of questions. Think you can handle the fame, super-star?" asked Sam, grinning.

"Only if you and Tucker are next to me sharing the agonizingly bright spot-light!"

"So you're the world's hero, Tucker's our mayor, and I'm—"

"The luckiest girl in the world," Danny reached out his arm and snaked his way under Sam's neck, and then wrapped it around her torso, pulling her onto his shoulder. Sam was at first shocked by the closeness, but smiled and snuggled closer, wrapping her free arm around Danny's chest. She was pleasantly surprised at how muscular he had gotten from all the fighting.

"You know how many girls are going to fawn over me, hero of the world and the best looking halfa in the universe?" Danny sucked in air and puffed out his chest in mock superiority, which received a jab from Sam's finger, and he promptly deflated, laughing. Again, she was surprised at how hard his muscles were. That jab almost hurt her finger—almost.

"Great, so while you're chasing away ghosts I have to chase away crazed fan-girls?"

"What, don't think you can handle a bunch of screaming, hormone-driven, fanatic females?" Danny suddenly got an image of the girls from last year's Happy Princess Pageant chasing after him, threatening to claw his eyes out with their perfectly manicured nails…followed by an image of Sam holding an Ecto-Bazooka, taking deadly aim with an evil grin on her face. _Dang._

"Ha!" Sam laughed with a menacing tone, "There's a joke if I ever heard one. You know full well I'm capable of obliterating anything I desire, especially if it comes between me and you. You know I still have my Fenton Wrist-Ray aka the perfect accessory of pain!"

Danny hugged Sam closer to him, "I love it when you're deadly."

And so the night passed, as calm and comforting as a silken sheet, punctuated only by the conversations and laughter of the star-crossed lovebirds. Sometime during the night, Sam realized it was hard not to stop smiling when she was with Danny, especially now that everything seemed to be going perfectly. Time also flew. She glanced at her watch for the first time that night and started, "Oh my gosh, it's nearly midnight! We should get going before we're skinned alive by our parents, hero or not."

Danny yawned and stretched. "Alright, I'll fly you home."

"Normally a guy walks the girl home," Sam began as Danny transformed into his ghost-half and picked her up like earlier, "But this is way cooler."

Danny deepened his voice to imitate his hero-half as he shot into the sky, "That's what happens when you have a world-renowned super-hero as your boyfriend!"

"Oh, shut up," chuckled Sam.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, somewhere deep in space…<p>

Vlad wasn't sure how long he had been floating in vast oblivion, lying on a space rock. Ghosts don't fatigue, or feel hunger or thirst, so time was literally infinite as it was unimportant. What was important, however, was to figure out the next plan of action. He would return to Earth…eventually. Secret-identity revealed or not, he was still a powerful entity.

And plus, he missed his cat.

Vlad sat up, remembering something so crucial he was surprised he had almost let it slip his mind. He still had King Pariah Dark's Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire! When worn together, they would give the bearer unlimited power. With the plan to rule the world after saving it from the Disasteroid, he had forgotten about the two items. They were safe, however, hidden and sealed in an area only known to him. A devious grin crossed his face, and a devious plan crossed his mind. The entire world already knew he was evil; why not live up to that reputation? Crazy fruit-loop or not, he still wins all of his games of chess.

But, there _was_a slight annoyance in the form of Danny Phantom. Vlad stood up and began pacing. If even Pariah Dark couldn't defeat Danny Phantom while wearing the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire, then Vlad wasn't daft enough to try either. No, he didn't need to defeat young Daniel—he merely needed a distraction; something to keep him occupied while he dominated the entire world and Ghost Zone.

The Ghost Zone…hmm…that presented Vlad another devious idea to add to his devious plan. That meddling old fool, Clockwork, was in possession of an indestructible force, something almost more powerful than Vlad Plasmius himself, and the most perfect distraction for young Daniel: Dark Danny aka Dan Phantom, Danny's far older, and far more evil, self. Oh, Vlad knew of Dan Phantom—he had his wily ways.

True, Dan Phantom cared for nothing but himself, and he would undoubtedly defy any orders or bargains Vlad would issue, but Dan Phantom was _almost_ more powerful than Vlad himself, not _absolutely_. Once world domination was complete, and Danny Phantom was probably defeated and destroyed, Vlad had no doubt he would be able to prison Dan Phantom again.

"Pawn, knight, bishop…they're all the same in the end and well worth the sacrifice if I become King of the World!" Vlad raised his arms and a terrible and menacing thunder of laughter rushed from his chest into the infinite blackness.

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><p>So basically I'm trying to stick with the cartoon's universe as much as possible, so just pretend you're watching—er, reading—Season 4 of DP :]<p>

I know sound can't travel through space since there are no air molecules to vibrate, but let's pretend. I mean, it's a world with half-ghosts and time-travel. Of course we can bend the laws of physics just this once!

**Please review!** :] I also like to reply to them too if I can :]

Shout-out to **sperry426** for brainstorming titles with me. Believe it or not your messages actually helped jumpstart my brain into coming up with what I have now! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Dan Phantom may have removed all traces of humanity, but he could not erase his memory, and the pain of losing all those he cared about still lingered in his mind. He could not feel, but he could remember, and those memories never relinquished their sting, and combined with Vlad's unquenchable lust for selfish power, had turned him into the very incarnation of evil. The anguish clouded his mind and it drove him to insanity. The agony only stopped when Vlad's villainous ghost-half took over, and conquered his thoughts and actions. It distracted Dan from the pain, and he became addicted and dependent to this deadly heroin.

He did not feel the passing of time as he remained imprisoned within the Fenton Thermos, but he did feel the pressure of all his human memories pressing in, and the power-lust of Vlad pressing back, until his thoughts and feelings felt like a volcano on the brink of eruption. His anger boiled like red hot lava, and his thoughts were only on one thing: revenge of his younger self, Danny Phantom, for imprisoning him in this personal hell, while he was free to live life without understanding and experiencing the loss that Dan had suffered. Danny didn't know what it felt like watch them _die_…his mother, father, Tucker…and Sam.

Dan growled inwardly. _Sam_. He had almost forgotten how beautiful she looked. But gazing at her face in wonder had only caused more hurt to surface, turning that wonder into spite. He wanted to scream every time he thought of Sam. If he had a heart, he would have locked up every single memory of her in there, and let it freeze over until it even the hottest of fires and sharpest of chisels couldn't squeeze out one more tear. Dan's red eyes erupted into bright hot coals.

_After everything I have ever done for her, she never once loved me._

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><p>It was Friday morning, but school wasn't scheduled to start until next Monday, given the circumstances of a near-apocalypse a week ago. Sam therefore decided to sleep in, and for once, her parents didn't burst into her room to open the curtains to greet the world "With a smile on your face and an attitude of gratitude!" They probably realized that helping in saving the world (and Amity Park for the past year) was hard work enough. Everyone needs a beauty sleep now and then because of that! Surprisingly, they also weren't angry (at all) when Danny brought Sam home yesterday past midnight. <em>I guess there's nothing objectionable, immoral, or obnoxious about having a super-hero as a boyfriend.<em>

However, deciding to sleep in and actually sleeping in were two entirely different things. Sam still woke up at seven, and her racing mind wouldn't let her fall back into dreamland. The ring Danny had given her was sitting on her nightstand, and she turned her head to gaze at it. It definitely was a class ring, with Casper High's raven mascot engraved in the stone. She picked up the ring and peered at the engraving on the inside band, and started laughing out loud when she remembered she thought it said "Wes" at first.

There was a knock on her door and her mother stepped in, "Samantha sweetie? You're awake?"

Sam slipped the ring on her finger and sat up, "Um, yeah. Couldn't fall back asleep I guess."

"Are you so in love that you're always going to wake up giggling?" Mrs. Manson sat down at the foot of Sam's bed, smiling at her daughter. She had a slight Southern drawl in her speech, having grown up in Sugar Land, Texas.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Umm, you're not going to give me… THE talk, are you?"

Mrs. Manson chuckled, "Not unless you want me to."

"Ugh no, way too early in the morning for that."

"It's never too early in the morning for anything!" Sam's father bounded into the room, smiling and practically shouting, "Good morning Sammykins!" He jumped in front of the curtains and flung them open, flooding the room with bright (and in Sam's part, agonizing) light. She winced painfully. Well, so much for not having her parents burst into her room and doing that for one morning.

"You're going to blind the poor girl one day, Jeremy," spoke Sam's grandmother as she whirled into Sam's room on her scooter, "You really should stop that."

"Umm," Sam looked around the room, "Why are you all here?"

"We can't all come say 'Good Morning' to our favorite daughter?" replied Mr. Manson, still grinning.

"I'm your _only_ daughter," Sam crossed her arms, "And that's not a very convincing reason. Why are you all here? At once? In my room? So early in the morning?"

"Why, to talk about that nice boy Danny!" spoke Sam's grandmother, wheeling next to Sam's side.

Sam mentally did a face-palm. _Whhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyy…._

"Oh yes, Daniel Fenton," said Mrs. Manson, "I never realized how responsible he actually was."

"That's because you never got to know him," replied Sam through gritted teeth.

Mrs. Manson ignored Sam's statement, or perhaps didn't hear. "And you've been battling ghosts with him and Tucker all this time?"

"My Sammykins is so brave!" Mr. Manson pulled Sam into a tight hug, who quickly wrestled out of his arms.

"Yes Mom. Ever since the beginning of Freshman year."

"And you didn't tell us sweetie? What if you got hurt?"

"Because," Sam sounded exasperated, "You never would have understood. And we had to keep Danny's alter-ghost-ego a secret too."

Mrs. Manson suddenly gasped, "Wait, is that what happened when that Freakshow came to town with that immoral circus? You three snuck out of detention to battle his evil ghosts?"

"Yeah. Danny was actually possessed by Freakshow, who had this staff that could control ghosts…and Tucker and I had to go rescue him…Danny I mean, not Freakshow. " It felt really strange discussing all this to her entire family, especially at seven in the morning, and Sam thought she was used to all things strange.

"Very admirable," nodded Mrs. Manson, smiling. "I apologize for grounding you three." She paused, and then added, "Tell you what, how about you invite Daniel over for lunch today at noon. We'd all like to get to know our little girl's boyfriend a bit more." She stood up and headed for the door.

"And not to mention the world's biggest hero!" Mr. Manson shot Sam a ten-thousand kilowatt smile, and followed his wife into the hallway.

Sam watched them leave and burrowed her face into a pillow. "This is going to be such a bad idea," her words muffled.

"Cheer up _bubeleh_," her grandmother said as she stroked Sam's hair, "Your parents will behave. They just want to get to know Danny more. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Sam looked up and smiled, "I guess… but that still won't make it any less awkward!"

Sam's grandmother just chuckled and wheeled out of the room.

_Well, here goes._ Sam picked up her cell phone and sent Danny a text, deciding not to call because she knew he very much enjoyed every ounce of sleep he could get.

"Morning sleepy butt! Come over at noon to have lunch with my family? Not my idea, trust me. Let's just get this over with." She pressed the "Send" button and lied back down, contemplating what to do for the next five hours. However, almost immediately her phone buzzed. She looked down and was surprised to see Danny's response.

"Morning :] and uh sure should I be scared?"

"Wow you're up early. And I don't think so. I think they just want to know you a bit better."

"Haha yea actually had an early morning phone interview with radio station and just got done."

"Superstar :P Anyways, gonna go shower and change. See you at noon!"

"See ya!"

Sam put down her phone and smiled. She'll have to ask about that radio interview later. It was amusing what kinds of questions the press would ask. Although she wished they would stop asking about her so much—she loved being Danny's girlfriend, but she didn't like the media attention. In addition, so far she had to turn down 17 interview requests, from the local radio station to national televised talk-shows. Fame just wasn't her thing, and her parents disapproved as usual, but thankfully didn't force any actions upon her.

Oh, and one can't forget to mention the hundreds of Facebook friend requests she had gotten in the past few days. If these people thought she was shallow enough to add complete strangers, they really should check up on the statuses of their brain. She even contemplated on deleting her account, but decided against it—there were too many photos of her, Tucker, and Danny on there that she treasured.

Shockingly, there were also a lot of hate mail coming through, namely death-threats. Danny was right—he was now a regular teenage heart-throb, with him being so famous and so good-looking with those blue (or green) eyes and adorably messy black hair and all…He was also charming, and sweet, and humorous, and klutzy in an endearing way, and totally hot in that black jump-suit… Sam smiled and a little voice in her head giggled. The death threats didn't faze her at all though; some of them were actually pretty well written, and she filed them in the back of her head for future use on ghosts or humans who deserved her ire.

Sam stretched and got out of bed. _Well…lunch will be interesting…_

* * *

><p>Danny stared at his cell phone in his hand and silently panicked. <em>Lunch? With the Mansons? Today? Lunch with the Mansons! Sam's parents! Lunch! Lunch with Sam's parents! Ah!<em>

This definitely wasn't his first time meeting Sam's parents; but it was just the first time meeting them as her _boyfriend_. The atmosphere was going to be totally different, and probably awkward.

"Okay," Danny said out loud to himself as he paced around his room, "You can do this. You've battled the most evil of ghosts, and saved the world, and ate Dash's underpants." He paused and gagged at the memory, "So lunch with Sam and her family should be a breeze! Nothing to it! You can do it!"

He walked in front of his mirror and forced a giant smile, which soon fell as anxiety kicked in again. _Well, at least I should shower and change out of my PJ's first_. He went to his closet and rummaged through his clothes. _Jeans! Yes, pants are good! Now a nice shirt. Do I even have nice shirts? What about this light blue button-up? Or is it called button-down? Light blue is a nice color right? Right. I think so. Will Sam think so? Will Sam's _parents_ think so? I think I need to iron this. I hope Mom's awake. Battling ghosts, I can do—but domestic tasks such as ironing shirts…not so much…_

* * *

><p>Noon soon rolled around, and Sam had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the doorbell rang. She rushed to the door before her parents could reach it and opened it to find an extremely sharply dressed, yet nervous, Danny.<p>

"Hey," he smiled and pulled her into a hug, lightly kissing her forehead.

"Why, you look charming," Sam said as they pulled away. She looked at his light-blue (and freshly-ironed) button-up long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans. The shirt made his eyes smolder a bright sapphire.

"Thanks. Wow, you too…" Danny let his eyes roam up from her black boots, to her short (_short_!) black skirt (_wow she has nice legs_), to her dark purple corset-like top, and uh… he quickly pulled his thoughts back to reality as Sam's parents appeared in the foyer.

"Hello there Daniel, it was so nice of you to join us," Mrs. Manson cheerfully greeted him.

"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Manson. Thank you for inviting me to lunch," he replied as he stepped into the foyer, "Oh, and please call me Danny," he quickly added. _Daniel_ reminded him of Vlad.

"Certainly Danny!" Mr. Manson smiled and patted him on the back, steering towards the back of the house, "We're eating outside on the patio since the weather is so pleasantly sunny!"

Danny glanced at Sam, who rolled her eyes and shot him a look that clearly said, "Told you this wasn't my idea."

They arrived outside to a round table with four chairs and Sam's grandmother, who had already started picking at her salad.

"Hello there young man!" the elderly Manson waved, "Come and have a seat next to me. I'm not as scary as Sam's parents." She winked, ignoring the frowns from Mr. and Mrs. Manson.

Danny smiled timidly and sat next to Sam's grandmother, with Sam on his other side and Sam's parents across.

"Please, help yourself! Raspberry tea?" Mrs. Manson held up a pitcher.

Over a lunch of prosciutto di parma bruschetta, chopped Mediterranean salad, various types of quiche, gourmet cheeses, and fruit, Danny and the Mansons engaged in sporadic chatter, which started out casually about things like the weather and school, and eventually the topic narrowed down to focus on Danny, who felt like he was in the middle of a job interview.

"So Danny," Mrs. Manson asked as the quiche was served, "Tell me about yourself. What are your hobbies? Do you plan on fighting ghosts for the rest of your life or do you have other big dreams?"

Danny finished chewing and swallowed. He was expecting this. "Well, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, and er, playing video games, watching movies…but I guess my main hobby is ghost-fighting. I sometimes don't have much time for anything else. But I've always wanted to be an astronaut…or at least work for NASA. I'm hoping ghost-fighting will be more of a…side-thing in the future."

Before Mrs. Manson could respond, Mr. Manson excitedly asked, "Can ghosts breathe in space?" He received a small frown from his wife. He seemed to be extremely curious about Danny's ghost-fighting life, while on the other hand, his wife enjoyed asking about his normal non-ghost life.

Danny smiled, "I don't know, I've never tried. I guess they can…seeing how they're…not alive, but I'm only half-ghost. I still wear an oxygen-mask when I'm up there."

"Tell me, what was your most frightening ghost battle?" Mr. Manson asked, with rapt attention. Mrs. Manson quietly tsk-ed into her quiche.

"Most frightening… " Danny's voice trailed and his eyes fell on Sam, who was busy stabbing the raspberries in her tea with her straw. The most frightening battle had been between himself and Dark Danny outside of Nasty Burger, just before it was about to explode and kill everyone he cared about (well, maybe not including Lancer). But he didn't know how to phrase that. His other "most frightening" battles all involved Sam being in incredible danger, but he thought that somehow, Sam's parents wouldn't be too keen to hear that.

"That's tough to answer. They were all pretty scary, I mean, they did involve ghosts." _Um, that sounded pretty lame._ "Er, I think each were frightening…on their own level."

Mr. Manson opened his mouth to ask more, but Mrs. Manson quieted him, "That's enough ghost questions dear. We're talking to Danny Fenton here, not Danny Phantom. And plus, I'm sure you can catch him answer all his ghost-questions on all those televised talk-shows he's been on."

"Oh that's right Pamela. Danny how are those treating you?"

"Huh? Oh, the talk-shows…" Danny had spaced out for a second as a slight breeze caught Sam's hair and carried her scent to him, bringing back memories of their time spent together last night. "They're good, I guess. I never knew people were so curious." He caught Sam's eye and smiled.

Sam's grandmother caught their little exchange, and thought she would have some fun with it. After all, no one can reprimand an old babbling lady, right? "So Danny, I'm sure they ask a lot about your personal life?"

Danny nodded, slowly chewing his quiche.

"Any questions regarding our Sam?"

Sam immediately blushed and it was Danny's turn to nearly choke. "Oh. Uhh. Yea. There were. There were…a few." Actually, there sometimes were a lot. A half-ghost hero with a love interest seemed to be absolutely enthralling to the public.

"Care to give an example?"

Sam leaned back in her chair to look at her grandmother and exasperatedly whispered, "Grandma….!" Her grandmother just ignored her and focused on Danny, who was turning slightly pink and was suddenly fascinated by his raspberry tea, using his straw to poke at the raspberries just like Sam had done earlier.

"I…uh… well I always have to clarify that she's human…and not a ghost… which I guess makes sense… that I have to clarify, I mean." He looked up at Sam's grandmother, who was still staring and smiling intently, so he continued, "They also ask the usual…stuff, like how long we've known each other, how she helps me on ghost battles…um, etcetera." One interviewer had actually asked if he and Sam were to actually have kids, would they also have ghost powers, but Danny was definitely never going to bring that up! He had blushed a beautiful garnet at the time and mumbled "Idunnonextquestionplease."

And then, to his horror—and Sam's—the elderly Manson's eyes twinkled and asked just that, "What if, under the right circumstances, you and Sam were to have children, would they also inherit your ghost powers?"

Sam closed her eyes and brought her palm to her face and felt like she could die right there and then. Danny's throat made a noise like a half-choke-half-cough and he tugged at his shirt collar. Wow it got hot out here all of a sudden!

"Oh wow, look at the time, gotta go!" Sam got up and pushed her chair in, "We promised Tucker we'd visit him today."

"What? We—oh right!" Danny caught Sam's glance and decided it was best to play along. He got up and reached out his hand to shake Mr. and Mrs. Manson's, "Thank you for inviting me to lunch. It was all delicious." He smiled at Sam's grandmother, who winked back.

"You're welcome dear boy!" Mr. Manson flashed his gigantic smile, "Anytime! We will be seeing you around!"

"Bye children! Have fun!" Mrs. Manson waved as the two went back inside, hand in hand.

"And be safe! Use protection!" called Sam's grandmother, who then received shocked looks from Mr. and Mrs. Manson. "Oh I'm just kidding. Lighten up geez!"

"I swear," growled Sam as she continued her way through her house with Danny in tow, "If she weren't so old and I didn't love her so much…"

"Wow that was…" began Danny, searching for words.

"Extremely awkward? I know."

"So we're really visiting Tucker?" They stepped outside and Sam shut the front door, relief spreading across her face.

"Sure, why not? We haven't seen him in a while."

"Sounds good!" Danny stretched out his arms and transformed into his phantom-self, "Shall we travel via the Danny Phantom Air Express?"

Sam laughed and was about to accept when she realized what she was wearing. "Oh wait, skirt, no leggings" she pointed, "Bad idea to fly."

"Oh, right," Danny transformed back. _How could he have forgotten her skirt and those beautiful, long, exposed le—aaahhh okay, stop it. _He grabbed Sam's hand and linked fingers. "Afternoon stroll it is!"

When they arrived at City Hall, they found Tucker in his new office, typing intently away at his computer.

"Hey Tucker!" greeted Danny and Sam, as Danny sat in an armchair across from the desk and Sam went over to Tucker to give him a hug.

"Hey you two! Boy am I glad to see you guys! I was beginning to think you were too lost in your own little worlds to remember me," winked Tucker.

"Whatcha doing there Mister Mayor?" asked Sam, ignoring his innuendo-laden comment and peered at the computer screen.

"Oh, just drafting a few new city acts," he leaned back in his chair to let Sam have a better look.

"_Mini-skirt-Fridays? Meat-Loaf-Mondays_?" Sam read out-loud, raising her eyebrow, "Tucker, you're not serious are you?"

Danny burst out laughing, "All hail King Tuck! Hey, are you also going to order Paulina and Star to scrub your feet?"

"I'm just kidding," replied Tucker, who was also laughing, "I'm actually trying to implement a Danny Phantom holiday…type…thing to celebrate the anniversary of our world being saved."

"Aw shucks, you don't have to Tucker. The statue…er statues…really are enough….I really don't need any more attention…"

"How about an Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian Week?" suggested Sam, walking around the desk to sit in the second armchair next to Danny.

"Hahahaha-no," replied Tucker.

"No? A week's too short for you? Okay, how about Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian _Month_?"

"Definitely not."

"How about I bribe you…"

Tucker leaned forward in his chair, "Oooo well, in that case-"

Danny chuckled, "Guys… Sam, let's not get Tucker in trouble, and Tucker, I would never let you implement that. Eating toast with grass on it for a day was bad, but having to eat it for an entire mon-Ouch! Sam, that hurt!"

Sam pulled away her fist and pretended to blow at her knuckles, flashing Danny a sly grin. "I thought you liked it when I was deadly."

"Yeah, but not with me!"

Sam winked, causing Danny to blush.

"Okay lovebirds," interjected Tucker, "Just because you're _finally_ together after freakin _forever_, doesn't mean you have the right to go all mushy-wushy in front of me… Hey! I should make that a new law."

Danny just laughed, "Soooo are you coming back to school?"

Tucker sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I dunno man. I mean, I want to, but I also don't want to. I want to go back to school and hang out with you guys, but it's also super sweet being Mayor!"

"You're going to be great, Tuck, we're really happy for you," said Sam, "But we're going to miss you." She looked away sadly.

"Yeah," added Danny, a gloomy look coming to his eyes, "Ghost-fighting won't be the same without you. Or just hanging out for that matter…"

Tucker's face fell at the pained looks on his friends' faces. Being mayor was pretty awesome—being a leader and making the decisions was addicting to say the least. For once people listened to him—not just his family and friends—but everyone in Amity Park, and not only that, but they respected his opinions and delegations. But, he was still just a teenager that viewed hanging out with his best friends as life's top priority. He was also part of the ghost-fighting team with Danny, Sam, and Jazz. They needed him. Was there still a way to be both?

The trio of friends remained in contemplative silence for a few moments before Danny broke the stillness.

"Tucker," he began, "I know you're probably feeling bad about not being able to help out with ghost-fighting anymore…and I really owe a lot to you…," he paused, "For an entire year—I think it's been a year-you—and Sam—had to cater to my ghost-fighting schedule—"

Sam opened her mouth to speak, "Danny, we like—"

"Wait, let me finish. What I'm trying to say is…do what _you_ want. It's time for you to live your life instead of always trying to help me with mine." Danny stopped and looked at Tucker, searching his expression, before turning to Sam and adding, "You too Sam. The same goes for you."

Sam sighed and replied sincerely, "Danny, there's nothing else I would rather be doing that kicking ghost butt with you. Honestly."

Danny softly smiled, "Thanks Sam."

Tucker was still quietly mulling things over. Danny and Sam patiently waited for their friend's response.

"How about," Tucker finally began, "I take some time to think it over. Talk to my parents. Talk to the school. Talk to the Board. Anyways, we only have like what… 3 more weeks until summer? Man time flies!"

"Yeah," Sam grinned, glad that the atmosphere had lightened, "We're going to be Juniors in the fall, can you believe it?"

"Ugh," groaned Danny.

"Ugh what?"

"Ugh isn't that when we start applying for colleges?"

"Dude we should totally go to the same one and then room together in the same apartment or house!" said Tucker animatedly, and then he jokingly added, "I can serenade you with my lovely voice every morning when I sing in the shower!"

"Ugh!" said Danny and Sam at the same time, and all three burst out laughing.

"Oh by the way," said Tucker, when they finally stopped laughing, "I need to thank you two for making me about one-hundred and twenty dollars richer."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Um, you're…welcome?"

Sam merely sighed and shook her head. "What bet did you win."

Tucker beamed. "That you two would end up together before the end of the year!"

* * *

><p>It was early evening when Danny and Sam finally left City Hall.<p>

"That was a fun," said Danny, wrapping an arm around Sam's waist as they walked along the sidewalk.

"Yep," nodded Sam, "Although I really hope he doesn't implement any _Mini-Skirt Fridays_ or _Meat-loaf Mondays_."

"You wear skirts everyday already Sam, not like that would affect you."

"Yeaaah but they're not _mini_."

"Umm, have you _seen_ what you're wearing today?"

"No," Sam looked up at Danny with a look of devious amusement, "But I know _you_ have."

Danny looked down and returned a sheepish grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh," but Sam let the subject drop. "How was your radio interview this morning?"

"Good, I guess. They had listeners call in to ask questions. There were actually a lot of questions about Vlad."

"Really. Like?"

"Mmm, one dude asked if he purposely ran for Mayor of Amity Park for the sole purpose of causing chaos closer to me. Another asked if it was true his wealth came from him abusing his ghost powers… Another person asked if Vlad was responsible for all that crazy weather caused by Vortex. Let's just say, if people weren't convinced that he was a crazy fruit-loop before this, they now probably all do."

"So these radio interviews and talk-shows… you're enjoying them?"

"Mmm well, I guess. I mean, it's great to finally clear up so many things…like what happened last Christmas…but I think I could do without the fame…"

"Still enjoy sitting on the side-lines?" Sam looked up at Danny.

"Very much so," Danny smiled at Sam.

They turned a corner, and saw a group of girls that went to Amity Middle School, who upon spotting Danny, immediately squealed and rushed excitedly over.

"Oh boy," mumbled Danny. _Speaking of fame…_

"Ohhh nooo," growled Sam, shooting daggers with her eyes at the stampeding herd of tweens. What she wouldn't give for a baseball bat right now…

"Danny! We love you!" "Danny can you autograph my shirt?" "Danny can I have a picture with you?" "Danny can you show us your ghost powers?" "Danny will you go on a date with me?" "And me!" "Danny Danny Danny!"

Sam wished with all her might Danny would go intangible and fly them both out of this…mob…but, being the cute, charming, incredibly nice boy that he was, Danny obliged to all their requests with a smile… minus the date requests.

"Ladies ladies, I already have the perfect girl for me," said Danny politely, and returned his arm around Sam's waist. Several of the girls glowered at Sam, who merely grinned back, if only for Danny's sake. "Now if you excuse us, Miss Sam and I should get going. Don't stay out too late!" He called as he and Sam walked away.

"It's moments like those where I wish Vlad was the one that saved the world," muttered Sam, slightly annoyed.

"Oh Sam, it's not all that bad. They were like…twelve."

"Ehh, I guess."

"Are you jealous?" Danny said with amusement, "Would you like me to autograph your shirt too?"

"I'm not letting you ruin a perfectly good shirt with your scribbles."

"What about a picture? Would you like to take a picture with me?"

"Already have those."

"How about I show you my super hero ghost powers?"

Sam laughed, "Stop it." They had reached the stairs to Sam's house. Danny stopped walking and turned Sam to face him, still tightly holding her waist.

"Okay," Danny said softly, "How about a date with me?" He pushed back a strand of Sam's hair behind her ear.

"Hmm, I guess that's okay, but don't expect me to squeal in childish delight," Sam tilted her face up and kissed Danny sweetly on the lips, "Meet you here tomorrow morning at eleven then?"

"Sounds good," Danny's celestial blue eyes melted into Sam's amethyst ones, "Goodnight Sam." He kissed her gently on the forehead, and watched with a smile as she went inside. As her front door closed, he leapt into the air and transformed into his phantom-self as he did so. He loved flying through the air, enjoying the freedom and serenity. The higher he flew, the quieter the world became, until it was just the clouds, the setting sun, and his thoughts about Sam.

And what to do for their "official" first date tomorrow. Danny had a feeling he would be up all night brainstorming. Oh boy.

* * *

><p>I'm reading Tolkien's <em>Lord of the Rings<em> right now, and I had a slightly strange moment when my imagination threw in Sam Gamgee's image into this story instead of Sam Manson. Can anyone say mortifying?

**Please review!** I enjoy feedback; they make me smile! How am I doing with their relationship? It doesn't sound too superficial does it? I'm going to delve deeper into Danny's thoughts in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_The room was murky and hazy, as if everything were made of smoke. Danny could hear numerous and echoing ticking noises that logically should be close, but were distant all the same. His feet were carrying him towards something he knew he had to confirm. He willed himself to fight the blurriness of his vision. He just had to see. Nothing else was more urgent…_

_A chamber materialized before him, pushing through the nebulous mist. In it was a single round table, and it was empty. A cold dread swept through Danny. No!_

_A cavernous laughter suddenly resonated through the chamber, coming from all directions. Danny looked frantically up. He knew that voice; he heard it before. However nothing but phantom shadows danced mockingly around him. _

_Then out of nowhere a dark shape dropped from the sky and landed with a violent thud before him. Danny knelt down, and the fog cleared to reveal Sam's body, pale and broken. Her lifeless purple eyes stared vacantly back at him. Danny staggered backwards, unable to breathe. The floor beneath him suddenly gave way, and he found himself falling into an endless abyss. All around him echoed that menacing laughter, and as he plummeted, he realized why he recognized that voice. _

_It was his own. _

Danny sat up in his bed with a start, breathing hard, and surrounded by tangled sheets. He had a bizarre nightmare, but couldn't remember anything except the suffocating feeling of terror. He looked at the clock, and realizing it was 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning, straightened his sheets and lied back down. He closed his eyes and tried vainly to remember his dream, but it was like trying to grab water with his hands—the harder he tried, the more it slipped away. Only the crushing emotion of panic remained, smothering his mind in a black cloud.

So he thought about Sam instead, and immediately the dreariness was lifted. He may have told her that she was the luckiest girl in the world, but in truth, it was _he_ who was the lucky one. He still couldn't wrap his head around why such an amazing, loyal, intelligent, and gorgeous young woman could be with him. What he loved most about her, however, was how fiercely independent she was. Although he always wanted to be there to protect her, he knew that she would always be capable of holding her own, whether it was arguing her opinions at controversial protests or battling ghosts. She was fiery and feisty—his hauntingly beautiful tigress. It was the fact that in all actuality, Sam didn't _need_ Danny, which only made him want her more.

In addition, Sam was always grounded in reality—her head was never floating in the sky where the clouds could block her view. Her mind was always clear; her voice, always strong. She was Danny's diamond anchor in the chaotic world of teen-hood and ghost-fighting. Sam would always be there for him. Danny may be the world's hero, but Sam was Danny's heroine.

Danny let his mind wander a bit more, and it rested on the evening he gave Sam the turquoise class-ring. He wrinkled his nose—turquoise and gold weren't really her colors huh. And the more he thought about the ring, the more he debated the appealing idea of giving her another trinket of affection. After all… that ring _was_ originally meant for Valerie… and it was from his _dad_, of all people. It was a token of affection for Sam, yes, but it was more of a token that served as a promise for Danny to stay safe while rounding enough ghosts to turn the world intangible. If only he could give her something truly and completely from him.

A surge of motivation raced through Danny, and he got out of bed and turned on his computer. As he waited for it to boot up, he thought about his options. _Another ring? Slightly too unoriginal now_. He didn't want to _replace_ the ring she had now—he merely wanted to give her something more special—from him. _Necklace? Maybe. _

He opened an internet browser and started looking through the websites of some stores at the mall. His eyes caught the image of a silver heart. He clicked it, and the enlarged picture showed that it was actually a shiny silver heart-shaped locket hung from a thin black ribbon that acted as a choker. The details stated the heart's surface could be personally engraved. _Perfect!_ It actually looked like something Sam would wear, especially with the black ribbon. _Should he have something engraved?_ It did look pretty plain without any markings. He thought for a while, watching a few birds fly past his window. _Would it be too overwhelming to engrave his DP emblem?_ He continued to sit in contemplative silence, broken occasionally by the sounds of the rest of the Fenton household waking up. _Maybe not._ The emblem was a part of him as much as it was a part of Sam—she did create it. And…well…he couldn't resist putting a little symbol of ownership on his girl—call him overly protective or possessive, but he couldn't help but want to show the world that Sam was his, and his only.

He printed the product page and quickly showered and changed into dark blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He had plenty of time to go the mall when it opened for the locket and have it engraved. He just hoped that it was early enough that all the fan-girls in the city wouldn't be at the mall yet. Danny really didn't feel like getting "mobbed" today. He passed his mirror, and did a double-take. _Either this shirt had shrunk in the dryer, or those are muscles… Sah-weet!_

"Good morning Danny," said Maddie Fenton from the kitchen table as his son walked in, "Sleep well?"

"Morning Mom," replied Danny cheerfully

"Any plans for this beautiful Saturday?" spoke Jack Fenton, fiddling around with a new Fenton device on the dining table, "Wanna help your old man catch some ghosts eh, _Danny Phantom_?"

"Dad, there are no ghosts. Not yet at least," replied Danny as he opened the fridge, "And—whoa! Why are the waffles green? And floating? And have teeth! ARG!" He slammed the fridge shut and backed away.

"Oh, sorry Danny-boy. I knew there was something fishy with the Fenton Waffle Maker…"

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up," he replied feebly. Danny grabbed a granola bar from the counter and made his way to the front door. "I'm going to go to the mall and then to visit Sam. I'll see you guys later! Oh, and can I borrow the Specter Speeder later today?"

"Sure thing son! Have fun with the future Mrs. Daniel Fenton!" Jack chuckled and went back to playing with his spanking new and wonderful Fenton—um, he'll think of a name sooner or later.

Danny's eye twitched at the marriage hint. _Man…why do they have to do that…_

Jazz walked into the kitchen as Danny closed the front door. "You know Dad, you really should stop that," she began, reaching for the refrigerator door before Jack could warn her, "Studies have shown that when you joke that two people will marry each other, they will either—EEEEK! GET THEM OFF!"

"Jack, honey, you really should leave the cooking to me from now on," sighed Maddie, grabbing the broomstick and going to a screaming Jazz's aid.

Danny chuckled as he heard Jazz's shrieks. "Well, sounds like she discovered the waffles!" He jumped into the air and transformed into Danny Phantom, and flew towards the direction of the mall.

An hour later, Danny exited the mall with a radiant smile on his face and a small black gift-bag in his hand. The shopping and engraving took less time that he had predicted, and best of all, there were no screaming mobs of people clamoring for his autograph! He only slightly caused a scene when he had to transform to show the engraver what his DP emblem looked like. A few people in the store eyed their surroundings with paranoia. But, other than that, the mall trip was as smooth as the silken sheets on Sam's bed.

Danny blinked. He had no idea why he chose that metaphor. Actually, he did, but he didn't want to think too deep. He looked at the time on his cell phone and pondered what to do for the next hour. He could return home, but then his dad would probably drag him into a demonstration of whatever that new invention he was toying with this morning. _Nope_. He could visit Tucker, but he wasn't sure if he was at City Hall busy with morning meetings, or enjoying a day off and sleeping in. _Guess not_. So, Danny decided to go over the Sam's. If she wasn't awake, he'll just hang around in the theater, or maybe play a few rounds of bowling with her grandmother.

As he gazed down at peaceful Amity Park, he realized it had been strangely quiet the past few days as far as ghost attacks were concerned. Were they thanking him for saving the world and the ghost dimension by giving him a break? Did they finally realize that he was a formidable foe? Was it no longer fun to terrorize a town that was now all on Danny Phantom's side? Or were they all silently plotting something? Danny was actually really astonished Skulker hadn't attempted to hunt him yet—he did say Danny was an even bigger prize now that he was world-famous.

Oh well, Danny wasn't about to look a gift-horse in the mouth. He flew to Sam's house, and decided to first peek into Sam's room to see if she was awake. He went invisible and intangible, and stuck his head through her window, waiting a few moments to adjust to the darkness that broken with only a few flickering candles. Immediately his senses were overwhelmed by the smell of Sam—the scent of soothing lavender mixed with something devilishly intoxicating and strangely alluring. His eyes wandered from the intricate designs of her iron-wrought bed, to the hills and valleys of her burgundy sheets, and finally rested on the peaceful sleeping figure of Sam.

Danny chuckled to himself as he flew in and landed silently next to the bed. _What a sleepy-butt._ He placed the gift-bag on Sam's nightstand, and gently kissed her forehead. After a few more seconds of staring fondly at Sam's tranquility, he flew out through the window to the front door, transformed back, and pressed the door-bell.

* * *

><p>Sam groggily opened her eyes at the distant sound of a bell. She suddenly jolted awake. <em>Dracula! He's here!<em> She blinked and frowned at her surroundings, and then with a groan, sank back into her comfortable position. _I really need to stop reading so late into the night before I go to sleep…_She reached her hand over to turn on the lamp on her nightstand when her fingers hit something solid. _What…_ Sam turned and saw that the traffic jam was caused by a glossy gift-bag. Confusion swept over her and she sat up, reaching around the bag to turn on her lamp. _This better not be some gauzy pink ribbon or hair-band from Mom_. She cautiously reached inside, and lifted out a small white card. Opening it, she read,

_To My Sam,_

_I wanted you to have something that was completely from me, and completely for you. Thanks for always being there for me._

_Love, Danny_

Sam smiled to herself, and put the note aside. _When did Danny become so darn sentimental?_ She pulled out the small velvet box, opened it, and was immediately at a loss of thoughts. She pulled out the silver heart-shaped locket by its black ribbon, and stared wordlessly at Danny Phantom's engraved emblem on the front. _Oh Danny and his hero-complex. _The locket shimmered like a star under the soft light of her lamp. She let it rest in her palm, and opened it, revealing two tiny heart-shaped frames for two tiny heart-shaped pictures. They were empty—for now at least. The pictures and memories would soon fill both hearts—the locket's and her own.

Sam then broke into smile that would even dim her own father's thousand-kilowatt grin. She leapt out of bed and ran to turn on the lights, and then twirled to her dresser mirror to put on the locket. She admired the look of the locket against her pale skin, until she realized that Danny must have been here, in her room, this morning. _Which means…_she suddenly remembered the sound of the door-bell that woke her from her sleep. _Crap, Danny's here already! I need to get ready!_

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, Sam's parents and grandmother weren't home. The housekeeper who let Danny in explained they were having brunch with some old friends at the country-club. <em>Amity Park has a country-club?<em> thought Danny, raising an eyebrow. The housekeeper then continued to explain that Miss Samantha was still asleep, but handed him a cup of tea and told him to make himself at home. Danny thanked her and decided to wander around the house, having only ever been in Sam's room, the movie theater, the library, the kitchen and informal dining room, and the back patio. He had oftentimes caught glimpses of other rooms as he traversed the stairs, but Sam never gave a tour, probably still uncomfortable with flaunting her family's riches. But Danny and Tucker didn't mind; they never did understand why Sam was so reclusive about this fact, when the two boys could care less about how much money she had. Her friendship knew no currency.

After wandering around the classy (and really large) house decorated in Old-Age opulence, Danny found himself outside of Sam's doorway, and was surprised to hear the faint beats of music resonating through. _Ah, so Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up_. He looked at the time on his phone. A_nd about time! _He was about to knock on the door when it opened and Sam literally bumped into Danny, spilling the contents of his cup all over his shirt.

"Oh-!" Sam pulled away by instinct and surprise. "Danny! Oh, oops I'm so sorry!"

"Morning?" Danny laughed and stared down at his newly tie-dyed (or, more like _tea_-dyed) shirt. He was thankful that the tea wasn't hot anymore.

"Oh Danny, I'm so sorry, I had no idea—"

Danny laughed again, "Hey it's okay. Not your fault I decided to go snooping around outside your door." He pulled his shirt away from his body to get a better look at the stains, and because the warmth of the tea was quickly dissipating, leaving behind an unpleasant coolness.

"Oh, here, come inside, and let's try to get the stains out…" Sam stepped aside, leading Danny to her private bathroom. She grabbed a washcloth and rinsed it under the warm water.

"Actually," said Danny, "I think it would be easier if—" He put the (now empty) cup of tea next to the sink and smoothly took his shirt off, revealing that yes, his shirt had not shrunk in the dryer, because yes, those were muscles. And yes, Sam had definitely paused in wringing the washcloth and was definitely staring.

Danny made an effort to walk closer to the sink, but noticed Sam was still rooted to the spot. "Excuse me my lady, but I must acquire the services of a provider of fresh, clean water to rinse my battle-stained clothes."

Sam quickly snapped out of her reverie. "Oh right, I'm sorry, um…" She stepped to the right, just as Danny also walked to his left, and they awkwardly side-stepped in place, each only succeeding in blocking the other for a few seconds before Sam placed her hands on his (_bare and muscular! _) chest to pause his movements. As she did so, Sam took a sharp intake of breath, and her hands lingered for a few seconds. Danny curiously watched her, feeling slightly smug about her reaction, but mostly his heart just raced at her touch.

Sam took in a deep breath. "Right." She looked down and let her hands drop, and she moved to the side so Danny could have access to his…provider of fresh, clean water. She stayed in the bathroom however, hypnotized by the flexing and rippling of his arm muscles as he scrubbed and wrung out his shirt. Her eyes traveled to his torso, and suddenly took notice of a few faint scars etched into his abdomen and back: remnants of the more painful and powerful fights.

"Danny, your scars…" whispered Sam softly, she timidly reached out a finger and traced one on his shoulder, "I never knew…"

Danny stopped in mid-rinse and turned his head. The touch of Sam's fingers on his bare skin sent a tingle through him. "Ah, they're nothing. I heal fast." His eyes roamed her face as she was intently studying his scars with her fingers, and noticed the new locket on her neck. He smiled. "I see you like it."

"Your scars? What—" Sam looked up and saw Danny nodding at her choker. She took her hand from his shoulder and touched the locket, "Oh, this. No I don't like it—" She paused, and watched Danny's confused reaction. "I _love_ it. Thank you." She leaned in, and gently kissed him on the lips. "You're such a cheese-ball," she teased.

Danny grinned, "As long as I'm not a cheesehead like Vlad!" He looked down at his shirt, "I don't think the stains are coming out…"

Sam bit her lip, "I'm so sorry…"

Danny finished wringing out the shirt and shook it in the air. "No worries; it's just a shirt. I'll just fly back home and grab a new one. And plus, we need to make a slight detour through Fenton Works anyways," he said, smiling.

"Our date doesn't include going through the Ghost Zone, does it?" joked Sam, walking out of the bathroom.

"Yup. I thought it would be fun if we let King Pariah Dark out of his Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and play hopscotch with him and the Fright Knight. Let bygones be bygones right?"

"Hopscotch? That's kind of lame isn't it? Can we play dodge ball instead?"

"Well in that case I'll round up Pariah's entire army too!" For the first time that morning, Danny finally took in what Sam was wearing. It was a similar outfit to yesterday's, except her corset-top was a dark emerald green, and she had put on black leggings over her long, slender legs under her dark skirt. No wonder her eyes seemed brighter than usual; the emerald really intensified her purple irises. "I like that top," Danny blurted his thoughts out loud.

Sam turned around and smiled one of her sly, yet still coy, smiles. "I like _your_ top too."

"Oh you mean, _this_ top?" As Danny said the word _this_, he stretched to his full height, brought his arms up, and flexed.

Sam laughed, but she couldn't take her eyes off Danny. The years of fighting had really changed him. Before he was just a child, thrown into the responsibility of constantly saving the world from evil; now he was a 16-year old with wisdom and motivation beyond his years, as well as a surreal and chiseled physique. Her eyes softened. Her best friend from as long as she could remember was growing up.

"When did you become so buff?" Sam walked back towards Danny and embraced him in a hug. He lowered his arms and wrapped them around her waist, careful not to let his damp t-shirt invade their personal space.

"Just last night," replied Danny, resting his cheek on top of Sam's hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, "I wanted to impress this girl I really liked."

"And you also got her a locket with your emblem engraved on it? You sound desperate." It was so warm and comfortable to be in Danny's arms, Sam decided, she could stay like this forever. 

"But judging from the fact that the girl is now in my arms, it worked."

Their peaceful and tender moment didn't last long, however, and was interrupted by a low rumble. Sam looked at Danny in surprise.

"I guess that's my stomach's way of saying, 'Okay enough of the mushy stuff!'" said Danny, laughing.

"Tucker won't be happy to know that he's been replaced by your stomach." Sam paused, missing their other best friend, "Anyways, how about we have a quick lunch here? That way you don't have to go out shirtless, and we can also toss your shirt into the wash. Unless you already have lunch plans for us…"

"Uh, actually, I hadn't really thought of lunch plans," Danny nervously smiled, "So lunch here would be great!"

Sam chuckled and led the way down the stairs, "Figures."

They ate lunch inside this time, so Sam could avoid the jolly yellow sun. Lunch was less eventful than the previous day's—except the fact that Sam found it shockingly hard to concentrate on her food (and conversation) when Danny just sat there, shirtless, and every movement from grabbing the fork to drinking out of the cup further accentuated his muscles. Danny knew all this, but continued with his routines nonchalantly.

Sam was slightly irritated at her behavior and thoughts. Normally the physiques of males wouldn't faze her; she could hardly be bothered with such superficial characteristics. _Ahh, but this isn't just some stranger on the beach_, a voice inside her head pointed out, _this is Danny, your _boyfriend, _and you know you're just dying to_—

"So!" Sam spoke quickly, trying to drown out whatever her subconscious was dying to do, "Aside from dodge-ball with evil ghosts bent on world domination, what other plans do we have for today?"

Danny finished chewing and smiled, a glint in his eye. "You'll see."

A while later, after finishing lunch and stopping by Fenton Works, a now fully-clothed Danny (wow that sounds sketchy) lead Sam to the docks by the sea in the Specter Speeder. The dark blue water sparkled and danced happily under the noon-sun, but was something that didn't quite appeal to a certain "creature of the night".

Danny noticed Sam's silent expression of slight distress and said, "We're playing dodge ball underwater, where it's cool and _dark_." He lowered the Specter Speeder into the water, and immediately it was as if Mother Nature had pressed "mute" on the speakers of the world.

Sam leaned forward in her seat, awestruck. An infinite blue expanse stretched out in all directions, and rays of light waltzed from the surface, illuminating psychedelic zig-zagging cuboids of light on the rocky bottom. Silver bubbles raced each other to the top as the Specter Speeder descended, and all around them wrapped an ethereal quietness.

"Wait, it gets better," said Danny softly. He transformed into his ghost-form, and turned Sam and the ship invisible, blending seamlessly into the blue waters and dancing lights.

"Wow…" whispered Sam. She felt like she was floating in the water, untouched and absolutely surreal.

"This way we won't scare away the sharks," murmured Danny. For some reason, they felt the need to be as quiet as possible, even though the Specter Speeder was still very much tangible.

"Sharks?" Sam wasn't alarmed, just surprised. "We're playing dodge ball with sharks?"

Danny winked, even though Sam couldn't see it. "And fish. Turns out Pariah Dark and his armies are too sleepy."

For the next hour, Danny and Sam slipped invisibly through shiny schools of fish, and definitely encountered more than one shark, idly drifting along. The sea creatures were wary of what they could feel but could not see, but sensing no danger, invited the two humans into a rare glimpse of their paradisiacal palaces.

Sam also, could feel but could not see the boy next to her—the boy who she had adored since the beginning of time, who was now excitedly whispering the names of fish that swam around their rocky castles. She couldn't see his smiles or the twinkle in his eyes, but she could feel the waves of adulation and happiness rolling gently towards her like the sapphire waves above them.

She slid over to Danny until she could feel his arm, and then rested her head comfortably into the crook of his shoulder. She heard Danny chuckle and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer.

They surfaced back to reality from the underwater world wordlessly, holding tight onto the lingering feeling of tranquility and wonder. Danny turned themselves and the Specter Speeder visible, and he found Sam's glowing purple eyes staring affectionately at him.

"I'm impressed, Danny," murmured Sam, leaning back towards the seat.

Danny's chest swelled with joy. "You liked it?"

"I have to say, this, combined with the locket, and your attempts to get buff overnight, have really won over that girl."

"Well, she's a very special girl." Danny gently raised Sam's chin and leaned in, but their kiss was interrupted by a wisp of cool air rising from his mouth. Danny sighed. "Of course."

The Box Ghost suddenly popped up in front of the Specter Speeder, waving his arms. "Beware! For I am—"

"Dead meat for ruining my first date with my girlfriend!" yelled Danny, and he pressed a button to activate the vehicle's Ecto-Ray Guns, and zoomed off chasing the Box Ghost.

Sam just grinned. This was where she belonged—with her friends and family by her side, Danny in her heart, and an adventurous life of protecting the world.

* * *

><p>Since sea-life trumps lake-life, my overactive writer's imagination is going to place Amity Park along the Northeast Coast. Anyways, it's not that significant.<p>

Thanks **Twikadevra** for helping me think of a date-idea for Danny and Sam! :] Go read her DP stories; she's an amazing writer!

Thanks **Nikkles** for giving me the idea of finishing their date with a random ghost attack! I didn't like my original ending; ending it with the silly Box Ghost is so much better :D (And realistic!)

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom (or the Harry Potter books).

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

"And then, as we were chasing him over the water, some _shark_ leapt out of _nowhere_ and tried to take a bite out of him!" Danny could hardly finish recounting his and Sam's rendezvous with the Box Ghost to Jazz while she drove them all to school Monday morning—he was laughing so hard. "And…and…!"

"Come on Danny, what happened?" asked an amused Jazz as she pulled into the school parking lot.

Sam chuckled as Danny held up a finger, pleading for a few breaths. "I'll finish it," she offered, leaning forward from the back-seat. "Anyways, the Box Ghost freaked out so badly he practically shoved himself inside the Fenton Thermos, all the while screaming like a girl."

"Yeah," added Danny between laughs, "He was all like 'I am the _Box Ghost_, _not_ a dolphin!' It was _the_ quickest ghost-catching experience ever! And I didn't even have to lay a finger on him!"

"Now if only every ghost could be as cooperative as him…" mused Sam.

"Then I would have more time for more important things…" Danny turned around in the passenger seat to face Sam and they both smiled goofily at each other.

Jazz sighed and shook her head at the two. "Ah, the beginning stages of love when dopamine and serotonin surge..."

"Hmm what did you say Jazz?" inquired Danny halfheartedly, still looking at Sam.

"Nothing," smiled Jazz. She parked the car and turned off the engine. "Anyways, I'll just leave you two alone. Don't do anything funny in the backseat!"

"Wow, Jazz, thanks," replied Danny sarcastically. He tore his eyes away from Sam and exited the car.

As Danny and Sam predicted, they were greeted with a wave of cheers and clapping as they entered the doors of Casper High. First to approach them were Dash, Paulina, and the rest of the A-listers.

"Well well," began Dash, with his arms crossed, "I guess I do owe you an apology, Fenturd—I mean, Fenton."

"Um, thanks?" replied Danny, still instinctually wary of the big football player.

"Fenton! You're the man!" cheered Kwan, slapping Danny on the back.

"But," continued Dash in a slightly aggravated tone, and Danny inwardly winced, "You are going to make my job of wailing on nerds harder now. For all I know, they _all_ could be secret superheroes."

Paulina waltzed over and sidled between Danny and Sam, much to the latter girl's extreme ire. "Paulina Fenton! I like it!" Paulina clapped her hands together and leaned towards Danny with fluttering eyelashes, who, trapped between the girl and the wall of lockers, couldn't edge far enough from her.

"Back off Paulina." Sam forced herself in between the two, much to Danny's relief. "Danny's mine."

Paulina flipped her glossy chocolate hair. "I snatched him away from you once before, you know."

"_Oh, I'd like to see you just try this time_," growled Sam, her voice lined with jagged ice. Danny placed his hands on her hips, anchoring her. The last thing he wanted to do on a Monday morning was try to explain why Paulina was lying unconscious on the floor with an imprint of Sam's fist in her face.

Paulina scoffed, and with a last wink at Danny, stalked off, followed by Dash and company.

Before Sam could open her mouth to voice blatantly exactly what she thought about that shallow girl, Valerie appeared.

"Hi Danny," she said as she walked over, and then nodded at Sam, "Hi Sam."

"Hey Val, what's up?" replied Danny in a friendly tone.

"Um, well, I'm sorry, about—" Valerie paused, looking around at the hallway of people who were eying the exchange curiously, "—you know."

Danny smiled, understanding. "It's okay Val. You only did what you felt was right."

"Although I'm curious," she asked quietly, "Why you never told me? It would have saved us a lot of…bruises, and such."

"Well, um," Danny lowered his voice to a whisper, "I figured since you uh, were so bent on revenge on my ghost-half, you would have also hated my human-half…"

"I guess that makes sense… " Valerie's voice trailed and she looked at the ground, finding Danny's blue eyes too intense. She remembered regretfully how she had relinquished a relationship with him because she was afraid her ghost-hunting would injure him, when everything was just a tornado of irony. She looked back up at Danny, who had one of his arms wrapped tenderly around Sam. Valerie inwardly sighed and forced a smile.

"Anyways, let bygones be bygones?" she offered, extending her hand.

Danny smiled and took it. "Let bygone be bygones."

"Oh, and Sam," Valerie let go of Danny's hand and turned to the other girl, "I'm sorry too. You had all the right reasons to doubt me."

"It's okay Valerie," Sam grinned at Valerie, her eyes warm. "You're actually not that bad. You should hang out with us sometime."

Valerie's small smile grew bigger. She actually couldn't remember the last time anyone other than Danny had asked her to just 'hang out'. "Thanks Sam. You're not that bad either." She turned to walk away, but then paused, and said, "If you ever need help…you know…I'm more than happy." And with one last flash of her grin, she turned and walked down the hall to her locker.

However, before Danny and Sam could do the same thing, they were blocked by none other than Mr. Lancer.

_What! It's like people are lining up to talk to us. Actually, I hope they're not…_ thought Danny.

"Ah, Daniel Fenton and Sam Manson, just the two people I'm looking for," the overweight teacher said with a knowing smile.

"Uh, hi Mr. Lancer," said the two lovebirds in sync.

"That reminds me, Tetslaff owes me twenty dollars…" His eyes glazed over, dreaming of the new back-shaver he would be able to buy now.

Danny and Sam looked at each other, rolling their eyes and both thinking the same thing. _Just how many people were betting on our personal life?_

"Anyways," Mr. Lancer yanked his mind back to reality, "I think I'm beginning to understand your lackluster grades and long record of unexcused tardiness and absences, Mr. Fenton, or should I say, Danny Phantom."

"Uh…" began Danny, unsure of what to say.

"Therefore," continued Mr. Lancer, "I will be willing to overlook all future tardiness or absences, provided that you have a justifiable reason for missing, aka, a ghost attack."

"Really? Whoohoo!" shouted Danny, almost leaping into the air.

"But as for your grades, well, I can only give you enough extra credit. I suggest you find a tutor. Perhaps your girlfriend? She has straight A's, by the way."

"Wait," Danny turned to Sam, "You have straight A's?" Sam merely smiled, and shrugged her shoulders apologetically as if saying _oops, I guess I forgot to mention it…_

"Anyways, I need to go collect my monetary reward from Tetslaff. I'll see you two lovebirds in class." Mr. Lancer walked away, singing joyfully to himself. "_Oh I love, to shave my back! It's much better, than a snack!"_

Sam visibly shuddered when she caught verses of Mr. Lancer's song. "You would think that being a Goth and fighting ghosts would desensitize me to all things strange…"

Sam and Danny continued on their way to their lockers, a task that would usually only take a minute or less. However, it was many more minutes and a dozen autographs and pictures later were they finally able to squeeze safely to them. Danny had always dreamed of being popular (quite literally, remembering his dream when Frightmare invaded Amity Park), but not _this_ popular! And when he got to his locker, he discovered that someone had decorated it all over with Danny Phantom pictures and pink hearts. He raised an eyebrow at Sam, who just stared back, as if daring him to ask if she was responsible for this display of nauseating cuteness on pain of death.

"You know who would have enjoyed these mobs of girls?" asked Danny as he opened his locker gingerly, half expecting a wave of fan-mail to crash down.

"Tucker?" replied Sam, opening her (thankfully undecorated) locker next to his.

"Yeah." Danny paused. "It feels weird not having him around."

"I know," agreed Sam with downcast eyes, "I miss him."

"But I'm happy for him. He deserves it all," said Danny, shutting his locker and cheering up, "Anyways, so as your official boyfriend, how about I do something obnoxiously cheesy like carry all your books for you or walk you to class?" He held out his hand, grinning.

"Obnoxious is right!" laughed Sam, holding onto her books, "I've been possessed by an evil jungle plant, been in more than one near-death experience, and kicked villain butt pretty much on a daily basis, so therefore I think I can handle a paltry pile of books! But," Sam grabbed Danny's hand with a smile, "I'm not so tough that I need to decline a charming escort."

* * *

><p>Valerie sighed. She was sitting alone in her first period before class started, and as she gazed out the classroom door window, she caught Danny pass by for a fleeting second. She leaned her head against her arm, and let me mind return back to those days when she and Danny briefly dated—their casual dinner turned spontaneously romantic, the baseball game, the Ferris wheel where they almost kissed…She had given up Danny Fenton because of her obsession with Danny Phantom, when in the end, they were one of the same, and she had been terribly wrong the entire time. Did her first impression of Danny Phantom destroying her dad's lab and essentially the life she knew really blind her to all the truths? Did her near-sighted fixation on revenge make her no different than a villain such as Vlad? Valerie tightly shut her eyes, trying to block out the answers. Danny knew her ghost-hunting secret all along though, and he was willing to risk danger just to be with her. <em>He must have really liked me. And he did. And I really liked him. But now, all I can do is miss him, and dream about a world that could have been.<em>

* * *

><p>Vlad donned his Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage and headed for Clockwork's tower, expecting a struggle (that he would indisputably win). But he was pleasantly surprised by the greeting of emptiness. He stepped into the tower, and paused, raising an eyebrow. <em>That's strange, no Clockwork? Shouldn't the fool know everything that's supposed to happen; shouldn't he have seen that I would have come here today to set Dan Phantom free? Maybe that meddler has meddled too much and lost his touch.<em>

The heavy thuds of his boots on the stone floor mixed with the sharp ticking of the numerous intricate clock pieces in the tower as he walked towards the center where Clockwork viewed the flow of time through his three portals. They were blank today, showing nothing but lazily swirling gray smoke. Vlad regarded the largest one in the center with slight curiosity. The silver mist flickered slightly when he paused before it, but revealed nothing more. Vlad stepped away, uninterested, and headed for his original destination. The Fenton Thermos that held Dan Phantom was in an unguarded chamber, which was hardly even a joke of an obstacle for Vlad. He blasted through, and grabbed the thermos.

"Come out and play, my magical genie," said Vlad, twisting open the thermos cap. At once a wind rushed through the tower, and a tornado of pale green smoke rushed out of the thermos. From within came a sinister and thunderous laughter, and Dan Phantom materialized.

"Ah, Vlad Plasmius," spoke Dan, "The last time I saw you, you were cowering like a pathetic puppy in a corner." He threw back his head and laughed, baring his fangs. "Wouldn't you agree that I am a much improved version of yourself?"

"Not at all," replied Vlad, feigning boredom, "For starters, I've never had the pleasure of feeling what it's like to be trapped in a thermos."

Dan narrowed his eyes and descended to the ground in front of Vlad. "I suppose you want some sort of bargain from me?" he said haughtily, "Some payment you feel is due for my release?"

"Not quite. I just want you to do what you do best, and I'll go do what I do best."

Dan crossed his arms and waited.

"In other words," continued Vlad with a malicious grin, "You go seek revenge on your younger self; make him pay for what he's done."

Dan's arms remained crossed. "And I suppose what you do best is take over the world?"

"Well, sure, if that's what you really think I'm best at—"

"And," interrupted Dan, "after I rid you of that vermin Danny Phantom, you suppose I'm just going to bow down to you and be your worthless pawn?"

Vlad sneered. "I see that fusing with my ghost-half has at least given you more brains." He wrapped his cape around and disappeared, leaving behind only echoes of his maniacal laughter.

"I am no body's servant!" Dan snarled into the empty air.

Suddenly the three time portals flickered to life next to Dan, and colorful swirls slowly smoothed away to reveal their images hidden beneath. Dan looked around guardedly, but sensing no presence of Clockwork, walked curiously to the portals. On the first one was an image of Jack and Maddie Fenton, peering quizzically over a broken device in their basement. Dan looked away in abhorrence. The second portal showed Tucker, sitting in the mayor's chair and gazing out the window with a longing expression. Dan snorted at the sight, and focused his attention on the largest portal in the middle. It showed Danny and Sam talking in hallway of Casper High after class. Sam was standing with her back against her locker, facing Danny, who was leaning in on a raised arm. As Dan looked on with both rapt attention and blistering resentment, Danny closed the gap between them and for a brief moment, captured Sam's lips in his.

The image struck a match inside Dan, lighting a fiery rage that consumed him. It burned him painfully, and hungrily devoured his anguish as fuel. He violently clawed at the portal with a roar, destroying the image in a whirl of wind, but he could not forget the picture excruciatingly engraved into mind_. Danny will die for this!_

* * *

><p>To say that lunch was uneventful for Danny and Sam would be a downright lie. Everyone wanted Danny to sit with them—<em>everyone<em>. At first Danny was flattered, but that soon morphed into sheer bewilderment.

"I just want to be alone," he whispered to Sam from the side of his mouth as they stood with their trays, scanning a crowd of "Danny-come-and-sit-with-us" people.

"Let's go outside," suggested Sam quickly.

Sometimes a suggestion is perfect in theory, but becomes the opposite in reality. Throngs of paparazzi and media reporters had arrived, all clamoring to get a glimpse of the world's savior's "normal life as a teenage boy". When Danny and Sam unknowingly stepped outside, a tidal wave of cameras rushed at them, blinding the unsuspecting couple with flashes and deafening them with a barrage of questions.

"Danny, how does it feel to be back at school after saving the world?" "Do you have any plans for college?" "Is that your girlfriend?" "Sam! Can you tell us something about yourself?" "How does it feel to be dating a superhero?" "Is it true you're an heiress to a multi-billion-dollar business?"

"Uh…" Danny and Sam didn't know what to do, or what do say. One-on-one interviews were one thing, but this rolling lava of media insanity was just terrifying. Thankfully, none other than Mr. Lancer came to their much-needed rescue.

"_Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_!" yelled the teacher, waving his arms, "Get off of school property you media mongrels!"

However, instead of leaving, the "media mongrels" turned their attention to Mr. Lancer and threw their questions at him.

"How long have you been Danny's teacher?" "Is Danny able to keep up with ghost-fighting as well as his grades?" "Were you ever curious about his multiple absences?" "Is Danny undoubtedly your favorite student?"

Danny and Sam took this brief distraction to slip back inside, leaving behind an extremely irritated (but secretly excited) Mr. Lancer to fend for himself in that feral world.

"I think I take facing our classmates over that mess any day," admitted Danny, as he and Sam rushed around a corner.

"Man!" exclaimed Sam, "Is it always going to be like this from now on?"

Danny looked over at her. She was trying her best to hide her emotions, but after eight years of being her best friend, he could sense she was truly vexed. He paused in the hallway and set his tray on the floor. "Hey," he said softly, grabbing Sam's hand. She turned around, puzzled. "Listen," he continued, "I'm really sorry for bringing you into all this…"

Sam's face softened. "It's okay Danny. I understand. Plus, I don't really mind it." She paused as Danny tiled his head down and stared deeper into her eyes. She looked away. "Okay, um, it is a _bit_ annoying…but," her eyes slowly trailed their way back into those sky-blue orbs and she reached one hand to cup his face, "I wouldn't trade any of this for anything."

Danny tenderly touched Sam's hand and smiled. "Me neither." He slowly leaned down to kiss Sam, but then two things happened—a thin wisp of icy air rushed out of his lips, and they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Aw, I do apologize for interrupting such a tender and sweet moment."

Danny and Sam spun around, and saw, floating in the air, none other than-

"_Vlad Plasmius!_" growled Danny, quickly transforming into his phantom form and moving in front of Sam to shield her, "You have a lot of guts to show your face to the world."

"Oh well, just thought I'd stop by anyways," Vlad replied, shrugging indifferently.

"Then just grab your cat and go back to living in space because you're not welcome here."

"Oh yes, that does seem to be the problem," mused Vlad, slowly rotating around a guarded Danny and Sam, "But I don't think that should an issue for long!" He aimed a deep magenta ray at the two. Danny swiftly pushed Sam away, becoming trapped in the glowing orb himself. Sam fell to the floor and looked on with dismay as the ray refused to give way to Danny's own blasts of energy. Vlad laughed and brought Danny to eye-level.

"Tell me why you're here, Vlad!" yelled Danny, punching the orb to no avail.

"Ah-ah Daniel, what's the magic word?" asked Vlad in a sing-song voice.

Danny just glared back. "_Die_?"

"Mmm, close enough. Well if you must know, young Daniel, I am here to take over the world!" Vlad raised his arms into the air and released a thunderous and victorious laugh. When he finished, he was slightly flabbergasted and very much infuriated to find Danny also laughing—but _at_ him and not with him.

"What, failing once isn't enough for you?" said Danny, snorting, "The entire world is against you now. What makes you think they'll submit to you?"

"Oh Daniel, you were never that observant. Do you not _see_ what I'm wearing?" Vlad clenched his fist and the orb holding Danny released bolts of electricity at the halfa, who yelped in surprised pain, "Do you not _feel_ how much stronger I am now?"

The flashes ceased, and Danny slumped to the bottom of his prison, clenching his jaw. He looked carefully at Vlad for the first time, and noticed he had donned the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage.

"And this time," Vlad summoned the ray towards him and stared menacingly into Danny's eyes, "I'm going to make sure you won't be able to thwart my plans."

Danny staggered as he stood up, but his voice was strong. "Oh yeah? You and what army?"

"Me," came a cavernous voice. Danny and Sam turned and simultaneously gasped. Danny felt his insides freeze. _No…!_

"Ah, Dan Phantom, perfect timing for you to join us," said Vlad gleefully. The rays surrounding Danny dissipated and Vlad hurled him across the hall, where he landed at Dan's feet with a sickening crunch. Danny painfully jerked his head up and found his ultimate enemy glowering at him with blazing crimson eyes.

"Toodles, children! I'd love to stay and enjoy the show, but I have a world to conquer!" With one last bark of wild laughter, Vlad disappeared in a swirl of magenta light.

Danny finally found his voice. "Sam!" he turned and stared into her distressed eyes, "Run!" Sam nodded and took off down the hallway. Dan's eyes followed her hungrily until his sight was blocked with Danny, standing up and clenching his glowing fists.

Danny's eyes flashed. "I don't care why Vlad let you out, but all I know is that you're going back!" He formed a ball of energy and threw it at Dan, who merely dodged out of the way with a snicker, before sending a more powerful one back at Danny. He gasped and raised a shield to block it, but the ray was too strong and broke through, sending Danny crashing into a row of lockers.

Dan grinned, and teleported away, only to appear in front of Sam at the end of the hallway. She skidded to a halt and inhaled sharply. "Hello Sammy," breathed Dan, flashing his fangs. Before Sam could turn around, he wrapped a large hand around her pale throat and rose into the air. Sam let out a silent scream, and tried with all her strength to pry Dan's iron-grip from her throat, but the more she fought the tighter he clamped down, until her head swam with agony from the lack of oxygen.

"NO!" shouted Danny, raising himself up from the icy floor, "LET HER GO!"

Far away, Sam could hear Danny's frantic cries, but his voice was growing softer, and the white lights of the school hallways were growing dimmer, and a numbing blackness was…slowly…taking…over…

"I will," sneered Dan, "If and when you find me." He then laughed—a roar that shattered the lights and windows all around them. He shot one final blood-red ray at the ceiling above Danny, and disappeared.

Danny cried out, and the last thing he could remember was a wall of blackness and pain crashing down on top of him, and the image of Sam's pale body dangling limply in Dan's hand.

* * *

><p>I'm so sorry it took so long! It usually takes me a long time to type out a chapter because I like to slowly peck away at it, oftentimes just sitting back and thinking silently for a long time.<p>

Also, I know this is a short chapter compared with the others, but I predict the next one is going to be super long, as it's going to be mainly interactions between Dan and Sam, and boy do they have a lot to catch up on.

Hmm you know what would be a fun fic to write next: some sort of love..square...thing with Danny, Sam, Valerie, and Paulina. Maybe that'll be my next one-shot in _Puddles_.

**Please review! I _love_ you guys for all the support! XOXO**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

**Note**: For the sake of this storyline and to give Dan more "memories", let's pretend "The Ultimate Enemy" happened at the end of Season 3.

**REVISED AUG 12 – **The discovery of Sam's locket

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

_Ice…_

_Pain…_

_Darkness…_

When Sam slowly regained consciousness, it took her a while to remember what happened. She could recall a deep murderous laughter, Danny's yells, and then an explosion…and then nothing. Had it been just a nightmare? She made a move to rub her pounding headache away, but discovered she couldn't move her hands.

Instantly, she became alert. She was strapped into a chair, her arms tied behind her back. She couldn't tell where she was—she could see nothing but an infinite blackness all around. She tried to calmly listen to her surroundings, but she could hear nothing except her jagged breaths and the deep hammering of her heart.

Suddenly a single light clicked on above Sam, blinding her with brightness and sending a sharp sting of pain through her head.

"Well well, look who finally woke up."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Dan Phantom." Her voice was raspy; she felt like there was a sharp rock in her throat. She could now see she was in a large concrete room with no windows, and only one door in front of her.

"You always liked stating the painfully obvious." Dan appeared in front of her, his fangs set into a sinister smile.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed me yet," snarled Sam.

Dan watched Sam with a leer on his face, and walked closer. "Have you never gone fishing before, Sam?"

Sam's response was to only glare silently at her captor.

"Of course you haven't you freaky vegetarian Goth." Dan turned quickly to the side and began slowly walking in a circle around Sam. "The best way to catch a fish is not with a dead worm or plastic mimicry; it's with live bait." He paused in front of Sam and turned to her once again. "And do you know what little fishy I'm after? Your precious Danny Phantom." He spat out his younger self's name venomously.

Sam continued to stare defiantly into Dan's glowing red eyes. "He'll defeat you again."

Dan leaned back and laughed, a roar that echoed fiercely in the empty room. "You proved me wrong! You _don't_ always state the painfully obvious. I'm not going to be the one to kill him," he said, holding Sam's angry gaze, "_You_ are."

Dan watched with satisfaction as Sam's eyes flickered with fear.

"You're his biggest weakness, Sam." Dan continued to circle slowly around Sam, like a ravenous wolf frightening his prey, "With you, I don't even need to lay a finger on Danny. I just give him a choice. Either you die," he stopped in front of Sam and leaned in, "_Or he dies_."

Sam could feel hot tears burning her eyes. _No…_

Dan smirked as he watched Sam's face twist with emotion. "And we all know what selfless little Danny will do in that kind of situation." He paused, waiting for Sam to speak. "_Now_ would be the perfect time to state the _painfully obvious_."

* * *

><p>Danny agonizingly opened his eyes. The crashing down of cement had caused him to shift back into his human form, and now his entire body was in excruciating pain. He groaned as he sat up, shifting the pile of rubble on top of him. He brought his hand to his head, willing it to stop pounding and spinning.<p>

_SAM!_ He frantically climbed out of the rubble, begging his heavy joints to move. _No no NO! I NEED to find her!_

* * *

><p>Sam cried silently, her head bowed. Dan was right. Danny would undoubtedly sacrifice himself for her. He would die, so she could live.<p>

"Why?" she choked out.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Why _what_?"

"Why go through all this trouble to kill Danny?" Sam looked up and tears poured down her cheeks, "You have me. If what you want is revenge, then all you have to do is kill me."

To Sam's surprise, Dan threw back his head and laughed—a monstrous sound that echoed throughout her concrete prison. "Yes, I could kill you," he finally said, "I definitely could. But I'm not going to, at least, not yet. If there's one thing I've learned about the human mind, is that the blind fury that stems from avenging someone's death is a force to be reckoned with, and I'm not going to give your precious Danny that magnificent gift."

"That didn't stop you from trying to kill me, Tucker, and Danny's family last time," Sam pointed out, glaring at Dan with red eyes.

"Last time, I was guaranteeing my fate," Dan slowly walked around Sam again, "But this time, I'm securing my _existence_, forever. The Fenton Thermos has one great flaw—though escape proof, that infuriating device is not sound-proof. I was tormented daily by the incessant blabbering of Clockwork, but one day, I heard the old fool mention something quite interesting. The Observers were still worried about the consequence of my possible escape, but Clockwork assured them that the time continuum would not allow duplications. In other words, Danny, Vlad, and I can't all exist at the same time. We would all fade into oblivion eventually. Therefore, for my existence to be ensured—" He paused, and returned his piercing gaze to Sam, "—Danny and Vlad must be destroyed."

Sam returned his unwavering stare. "I don't believe you. You didn't kill Vlad when you had the chance after he freed you."

One edge of Dan's lips curled unkindly upwards and he laughed inwardly. "Ah Sam, you simple-minded girl. Why on earth would I want to kill Vlad _first_? Why should I give Danny the pleasure of seeing one of his arch-nemesis's kill the other arch-nemesis? But most importantly, Vlad is the perfect distraction if I want Danny alone. I don't need another pitiful family reunion, not yet at least. When Danny and Vlad are gone, I'll have my fun with the rest of you vermin." His blood-red eyes flashed, and he leaned down so he was mere inches away from Sam's face. "Starting with you, my delicate violet."

Sam twisted her face away, not daring to breathe. She felt herself tremble as Dan took a strand of her hair into his hands. He slowly brought the lock of hair to his face and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent that had so tormented and excited him when he was younger. He opened his eyes and grinned maliciously. "And then you'll be wishing you were dead."

* * *

><p>"Oh my gosh Danny! " "Are you okay?" "What happened?" "Did a ghost attack?" "Probably!" "But he's not in his phantom-form!" "Well maybe he changed back—I don't know!"<p>

A sea of voices swirled around Danny as his classmates and teachers all poured into the hallway. He could hear shouts for an ambulance, and someone sounded like they were crying, and there was a lot of crunching and thudding noises as people shifted through the rubble to try to get to Danny…but it was all passing over him like a misty dream. The only clear voice he could hear was his own inside his head, screaming for Sam.

"Danny!"

He turned, recognizing his sister's voice. He saw her push her way through the crowd and climb over the broken pieces of plaster and cement.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Jazz finally reached her brother. Her concerned eyes quickly scanned over Danny, assessing his bruises and cuts.

"I'm fine," gasped Danny, finally finding his voice, "But—"

"Wait," interrupted Jazz, looking around alarmed, "Where's Sam?"

Danny clenched his fists. "Dan Phantom. He has Sam, and…" The words caught in Danny's throat, reluctant to become reality. The image of Sam's fragile and lifeless body flashed before him, sending his heart crashing down a ravine. Then all of a sudden he remembered his dream—the disappearance of the Fenton Thermos holding Dan, and Sam… _No, she's not dead. She's not dead. She can't be dead._

* * *

><p>Sam shut her eyes, wishing desperately to wake up from this dream—this nightmare. She willed herself to pretend she wasn't helplessly bound to a chair, trapped in a cold concrete room with no windows. Dan wasn't inches away from her face, devouring her with his hungry and unemotional eyes, and she wasn't silently crying tears of fear—fear for her and Danny's fate. She was somewhere else—lying on the grass and staring at the stars, or floating through an underwater sapphire palace, or just wrapped in Danny's arms—warm, safe, and loved.<p>

"I missed you the most," Dan whispered, still staring at the lock of dark hair in his hands. Sam was ripped out of her reverie by his voice, and her eyes snapped open. Then suddenly, Dan's voice regained their icy edge, and he forcefully dropped the tresses as if its touch physically burned him. "But that was before I abandoned my humanity—my _weaker_ side."

"Your human side was your stronger side!" objected Sam. Her voice quivered.

"Lies!" Dan yelled, "Look how strong I am without any emotions to guide me to my folly. Look how strong I am without any second-guesses to hold me back." He paused, and raised Sam's chin so he could stare into those trembling amethyst orbs, "Look how strong I am without having my thoughts occupied by your mirages."

Sam held Dan's gaze, searching his crimson eyes. "My mirages?"

Dan scowled and dropped his hand. "Yes, your mirages; your _lies_." He stepped back, clenching his fists. The dams in his mind broke, and he was flooded with…_memories_. He flew towards the wall in front of Sam and smashed his fist into the concrete. Growling, he extracted his fist, letting chunks of concrete fall in sharp echoes.

Sam winced at the crunching sound, and briefly wondered if anyone on the outside could hear the commotion. _Where am I? _She remained silent, horrified and not daring to speak. _Where's Danny?_

* * *

><p>Danny inhaled deeply, trying to keep his head clear. He needed a plan, and he knew this wasn't a task he could accomplish alone. He turned back to Jazz. "I'll meet you back home. I'll explain everything there." Danny stood up, and the crowd of students that had gathered cheered to see their superhero. He ignored them, and changed back to his phantom-form. He looked back at Jazz, "Can you get Tucker to meet us at Fenton Works too? Tell him it's an emergency and I need him." He paused, and then added, "Find Valerie too."<p>

Jazz nodded. She watched her brother disappear and felt his presence fly away.

Danny could hardly keep himself invisible and in the air; his mind was exploding with harrowing images of Sam and contradicting voices yelling in his head.

_I need to get to Sam. Now. _

_No,_ another voice disagreed, _you need to stop Vlad._

_I saw what Dan did to her! She needs my help! What if she's—_

_Dead? Then there's no point in you wasting your time. Vlad has the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage! There's no telling what destruction he'll cause; how many lives he'll take!_

_Sam is not dead! She _can't_ be dead…_

_Dan took her. You really think he's going to keep her alive for long anyways?_

_I can't just leave her._

_But you're Danny Phantom. You also can't just abandon the rest of the world—the world that you worked so hard to save just weeks ago. _

_It's my fault that she was dragged into all this; it's my fault she's hurt. She's my responsibility; she has _always_ been my responsibility!_

_But so are Amity Park and the rest of the world!_

Danny tightly shut his eyes, willing the storm in his head to silence. He was torn between what he needed to do, and what he wanted to do. His head was pushing him towards stopping Vlad, but his heart was pulling him towards Sam. He knew he had to make a choice: either save the world, or save _his_ world.

* * *

><p>Finally Sam couldn't stand the enigma in Dan's words. "What lies?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.<p>

Dan whipped around. "_What lies_?" His voice rose, "You have the audacity to ask _me_ what _your_ lies were?" He rushed at Sam, and stopped merely inches away from her face. Sam felt the wind of his movement blow back her hair, but she willed herself to remain as still as a statue.

"Yes." Sam found the strength in her voice again. "Do explain."

"Ha!" barked Dan, straightening, "What is this, a game of therapist?"

Sam remained indifferent. "It's your own fault you didn't gag me as well."

Dan smirked. "And do you expect to say, Oh how I've missed your sarcasm?"

"Still your fault you didn't gag me. So how about we have a cheery conversation in this cheery room?"

Dan stared at the girl before him, bound and helpless, with dried tear streaks down her face. Her purple eyes bored back into him, challenging and undaunted. The image irritated him.

"You are such a stubborn wretched girl. It's a pity Clockwork had to save you from the explosion."

"It's a pity you couldn't be saved as well."

"I don't need saving!" yelled Dan, the noise magnified a million more times in the concrete.

"And I have _never_ lied to you!" Sam shouted back.

Dan hissed. His fury boiled over and the words erupted like scalding water. "You don't get it do you? Do you realize how much I had sacrificed to keep you safe? How many times I had to save your pathetic self? And what do I get from all that? _Nothing!_ Not even when you had your chance when I was under Ember's spell did you take it! After everything I've ever done for you, you've never-!" Dan stopped, the words trapped in his throat.

Sam could almost hear her heart pounding in the silence. "Never what?" she asked quietly.

In response, Dan rushed at the wall and violently punched his fist into the concrete once more. The following contrasting silence dragged on again. Sam gazed at Dan, his giant figure leaning against the wall, fists clenched and shaking with rage. Suddenly she understood.

"Why do you take out your anger on the wall when it's clearly meant for me?"

Dan slowly turned around and glared at Sam, who continued. "You thought I never cared," she whispered. "But you're wrong. I did care." Her voice rose, "I had _always_ cared for you, Danny."

"Shut-up!" barked Dan, "I'm _not_ your precious _Danny_ anymore. The Danny that you once knew is _dead_!"

"No he's not!" Sam protested, her voice rising, "He's still a part of you! When we separated Danny's ghost-half from his human-half, his ghost-half still remained as he once was! _You're still Danny!"_

Dan roared with fury and launched himself at Sam. He raised a clawed hand above her, and Sam turned sharply away, shutting her eyes and bracing for the pain. When nothing happened, she gradually turned back and saw Dan standing before her, his hand trembling in the air, his eyes burning.

"You're still there, Danny," Sam finally spoke in a barely audible whisper, "You have to fight it, like you did when Freakshow controlled you. Danny…I _know_ you're still in there."

Dan didn't respond, but dropped his arm and walked sharply away, passing through the door. Sam bit her lip and inhaled deeply. Having Dan out of the room was a relief, but she knew that it was just the eye of the hurricane; he would return.

And for some reason, a tiny voice from the recesses of her heart hoped he would.

* * *

><p>Danny was so preoccupied with the battle between his head and heart that he didn't notice his invisibility had dissipated when he stepped in his house, surprising Jack and Maddie.<p>

"Danny!" they both yelled, rushing over.

"Oh Danny!" Maddie gathered her son into a crushing hug, "We heard what happened at Casper High on the news! Are you okay?" She released Danny and carefully swept his bangs away from his face, but upon seeing his expression, knew the dreaded answer to her question. "Danny," she began softly, searching his eyes, "What happened?"

Danny looked up at his parents, looking intently at him with nothing but concern, and sighed. This wasn't a battle he could fight alone. "Jazz, Tucker, and Valerie are coming over. I'll tell you all when they get here." He said no more and flew down to the basement.

Jack and Maddie looked at each other, and then followed silently. They found him rushing around the basement lab, hooking various Fenton weapons to his belt. His eyes were a dark sea-green, stormy with cold determination on the surface, but weeping silently in the dark depths.

Jack wasn't one for silences—he usually filled the emptiness with chatter, and Danny's taciturn movements were slowly driving him to the edge. "Danny," he finally spoke, unable to bear the lack of noise, "Won't you please tell your old man what's going on? The suspense is killing me!"

Danny inhaled deeply, and turned around while strapping a Fenton Thermos to his belt, but before he could respond, loud voices could be heard from upstairs.

"Down here!" Danny called back.

Jazz hurried down the stairs, followed by Tucker and Valerie who exploded with questions as soon as they saw Danny.

"Dude I was in a meeting when Jazz called me, but all I could get out of her was that Dan Phantom is back and he has Sam?" Tucker's normal twinkling turquoise eyes were almost feral with apprehension.

"Dan Phantom?" Valerie looked between Tucker and Danny, "Who's Dan Phantom? Did he do all that at school? Half of the second floor collapsed!"

"What?" cried Tucker, sinking into a chair, "He attacked Casper High?"

Danny finally explained everything, including who Dan Phantom was to Valerie and his parents. When he finished, the room was eerily quiet as everyone realized the grave seriousness of the situation.

Tucker finally spoke, "You can't be in two places at once Danny; how are you going to save Sam and stop Vlad at the same time?"

"Which is why I need all of your help," replied Danny, looking at his friends and family, "I need you to find Sam." He looked away. "And I'll go after Vlad." He turned around and shut his eyes tightly. _I'm sorry Sam, that I can't be the one to save you...  
><em>

* * *

><p>Oh, I know it's short, I'm sorry! I decided to split this section up into two chapters, or it would be way too long.<p>

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

**Note**: As mentioned, for the sake of this storyline and to give Dan more "memories", let's pretend "The Ultimate Enemy" happened at the end of Season **2**. (I think I said Season 3 last chapter. Oops)

**PLEASE READ: I made a slight revision in Chapter 5. Basically, Danny hasn't discovered Sam's locket yet. Bad story planning on my part, I'm sorry!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Jazz stood up. "Oh no, you're not doing that."

"I'm not?" said Danny, swiftly turning back around.

"He's not?" repeated Tucker, also confused.

"No," said Jazz, looking at everyone, and then focusing on Danny, "_You_ go get Sam. Leave Vlad to _us_."

Danny sighed. "Jazz, you don't know what Vlad's capable of with the Crown of Fire and—"

Jazz held up her hand to interrupt Danny, and then gestured towards Tucker, Valerie, and her parents. "I think, combined, we know _exactly_ how to handle Vlad, with or without that crown and ring."

Danny turned to the others, who were all nodding in agreement.

"I've dealt with that crazy-fruit loop tons of times. No biggie," smiled Tucker.

"He's given me all the latest state-of-the-art ghost-fighting equipment, and I'm definitely itching to try them out on him," said Valerie, grinning.

"Vladdie's no friend of mine anymore," said Jack, standing up and pulling out a baseball bat, "He deserves a good beating with the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick."

"And I definitely take back what I said about letting bygones-be-bygones!" declared Maddie.

Jazz smiled at Danny, and placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, "You've only saved us a hundred times. Let us return the favor. Your place is with Sam, and I _know_ that's where you want to go, and need to be."

Danny's eyes softened, and he embraced his sister in a hug, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thanks Jazz. But," he pulled away, concern washing over his face again, "Are you _sure_? I don't want you all to be doing this just because you feel like you owe me something, because you don't. This is my battle and—"

"Dude," Tucker walked up to his friend, "It was never purely _your_ battle; it's always been _our_ battle too."

"Yeah," agreed Valerie with a grin, "Stop hogging all the fun!"

"They're right, Danny-boy," said Jack, puffing out his chest in pride, "This is a job for all the renowned ghost-fighters in the world!" He quickly pulled an unsuspecting Maddie to his side. "Like your mother and I!"

Jazz gave Danny a knowing smile.

"Thank you all," said Danny, looking at everyone appreciatively, "I, um, I'm really grateful for all of you guys…"

"It's okay Danny-boy," Jack interrupted, "Save your speech for later. We better prepare ourselves from some ultimate butt-kicking! I'll go ready the Fenton RV!" He beamed and ran upstairs. "Honey! Where are my keys? I know I left them somewhere in the…"

Maddie sighed, and turned to Danny, "I better go help your father. Danny, let us know what you want us to do, okay?" She ruffled his hair and smiled, before quickly jogging upstairs towards what sounded like the couch overturning.

"Right," Danny returned his gaze to his friends, "We're going to need two teams. One team needs to track down Vlad—"

"I'll do that," offered Valerie, "Vlad gave me a ghost-tracker, and it's time to use it against him."

"Okay, Valerie, you go with my parents to track down Vlad—"

"What about Jazz and I?" spoke Tucker eagerly.

"Tucker, can you use your…Mayor-connections and warn every leader in the world about Vlad?"

Tucker immediately pulled out his PDA and began typing in commands, "Yes and…done! The whole world has been warned!" He gazed dotingly at his PDA, "I just love technology..."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Wow that was fast…anyways, I need you and Jazz to take the Specter Speeder into the Ghost Zone and round up as many allies as you can. Vlad's not going down without a fight, and the more help we have, the better." Danny handed Tucker the Infi-map and began inspecting the Specter Speeder's weapons, "Wulf, Frostbite, Pandora—anyone who's willing to help. But be careful," he paused, looking back at Tucker and Jazz, "If things get ugly, I want you to get out of there."

"No problemo," winked Tucker, "I'm glad to be back in the ghost-fighting business!" He hopped into the Specter Speeder and began initiating the starting sequence.

Danny turned to Jazz, who handed him a Fenton device. He stared at it curiously.

"It's the Boo-merang," explained Jazz, "It helped me lock onto your Ecto-signature 10 years into the future. If you re-program it, maybe it'll help you find Dan, and Sam."

Danny smiled at his sister. "Thanks Jazz."

"Bring her home, little brother," said Jazz encouragingly, hugging Danny one last time. She got into the Specter Speeder with Tucker and they launched into the swirling green Ghost Portal.

Danny watched them disappear with a pensive smile, and when he turned around, he was surprised to find Valerie still standing behind him.

"I, um, found this in the hallway near the um, collapsed second floor," she said, walking forward and holding out her palm. "I think it belongs to you…"

Danny speechlessly lifted the trinket from Valerie's hand. "It's..Sam's locket. I…she must of…it must have fell off when…" His voice trailed as he stared at the pale heart, looking cold and lonesome in the palm of his gloved hand. He looked back up at Valerie, who was observing him steadily. "Thank you."

Valerie gave him a small smile and placed a hand kindly on his arm. "You two were always meant to be together." Danny's eyes met hers, and she let herself drown in those endless blue eyes one last time, before quickly dropping her hand. "You should probably go," she said quietly, stepping back.

Danny nodded wordlessly, and with one last thankful smile at Valerie, flew to the rooftop of his house, emerging under a picturesque blue sky with puffs of white cotton clouds. The world outside couldn't be a larger contrast to his turbulent world inside his mind. He gazed at the serene scene before him and tried to commit every sunlit building and treetop and delicate cloud to memory because he had no idea how fierce the storm ahead would be. If he, his family, and Tucker and Valerie failed…this may be the last droplet of peace Amity Park—and the world—would know.

He dangled Sam's locket by its black silken ribbon and watched for a second as the sun's dazzling rays transformed the lonely silver heart into a bright crystal. He gazed back into the distance, and his eyes narrowed resolutely. He stored the locket away in his pocket, and looked at the Fenton Boo-merang in his other hand.

"Okay," he said determinedly, raising the device into the air, "Lead me to Dan Phantom." _And lead me to Sam._ The Boo-merang beeped as he tossed it, and circled around Danny once before soaring on its own accord towards the north. Danny swiftly rose into the air, and followed the path that would lead him to his waking nightmare.

* * *

><p>Dan was infuriated. <em>How dare…? How dare <em>she_?_ He paced down the dark circular hallway, passing closed iron doors that lead to rooms identical to the one Sam was in. The sounds of his sharp footsteps followed him, taunting him with their staccato beats. _Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam._

Dan barked out a curt laugh. If Sam thought she could play therapist and go searching for buried treasure, then so be it. The treasure chest she so desires has long been empty, gathering dust instead of jewels. She would just be wasting what precious time she had left.

"_I had always cared for you, Danny."_

Dan glared into the blackness. His figurative heart formed another thick layer of frozen shell, and the ice in his soul grew colder. There was no fire in the world warm enough to melt away the pain, no chisel sharp enough to chip away the darkness, and no love pure enough to bring him back to life. He had once thought Sam's love could cure him…but seeing her…only made it hurt _more_.

"_Danny, I know you're still in there."_

_No, he's not, Sam. Danny died a long time ago. I would know because I was the one who killed him. _

_And I'll do it again, so you'll know what it feels like to lose the one you love._

* * *

><p>Sam's eyes were closed with Dan returned, and he gazed at her sleeping figure stoically. He casually walked around her, and something gold on her finger caught his eye. He bent closer and saw it was the band of a ring. Uninterested, he made a move to look away when curious realization dawned upon him. He gingerly used two clawed fingers to slowly twist the ring around to reveal a turquoise stone on the surface. He tilted his head and blinked.<p>

"_If you really like this girl, Danny, you should let her know. Give her something—like this!"_

"_A class ring?"_

"_A girlfriend's not a girlfriend until you give her a class ring."_

"_I can give her this?"_

"_Only if she's special. I'm sure Sam will love it!"_

"_It's not for Sam!"_

"_Of course it's not! You guys are just friends! I even had it engraved."_

Dan pulled the ring off of Sam's finger and brought it to the light.

"_Can you hang onto this?"_

Sam stirred and raised her head to look at Dan behind her shoulder, who was peering intriguingly at the ring. "You were on a dangerous mission," she explained, "And I gave it to you before you left…so that you could promise to bring it back…and return safely."

Dan's eyes remained focused on the object turning in his fingers. He peered at the inside band and let his gaze trace Sam's engraved name.

Sam lowered her eyes. "You gave it back to me when you asked me to be your girlfriend…"

Dan looked up quickly and his eyes turned into slits. "You were never mine," he growled, and his hands closed harshly around the jewel. "You speak of a different person."

"You gave me a locket too…" Sam's voice trailed as she noticed for the first time an emptiness on her neck. "But I guess it fell off…"

"Pathetic charm," growled Dan.

Sam leaned her head back and sighed. "Remember when we danced together at the Casper High dance freshman year?" She turned back to Dan, "That's when you realized you had a crush on me, Clueless One."

Dan gazed back at her with impassive eyes.

"Which is ironic," continued Sam, looking away, "I guess that nickname should have been mine too, since I never knew."

"No, no you didn't," Dan finally spoke, his voice harsh.

"I've had a crush on you since the second grade, actually," replied Sam.

Dan snorted. "And I care because…?"

Sam twisted her neck around and stared at Dan. Her eyes were now bright and piercing. "Because I know you still do."

Dan laughed, and made his way back in front of her. "Because kidnapping you, strangling you until you became unconscious, and binding you to a chair in a dark empty room _clearly_ shows how much I care about you."

Sam shrugged. "It's better than killing me."

Dan's scarlet eyes flashed. "There are some things worse than death," he muttered in a guttural growl.

As Sam stared intently at Dan, his hulking and angry figure dissolved in her mind to reveal the scared and heartbroken image of Danny at 14, alone in the world because fate had so coldly destroyed his family and friends. Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry you had to lose all of us. Out of all the people in the world, you deserved it the least."

"I don't need your pity," snapped Dan.

"You don't get it do you?" replied Sam, her voice rising, "There was never a moment in my life when I didn't dread losing you. Every time your ghost sense would go off, I was always afraid that would be your last battle and the last time I would ever see you. Every time you fought a ghost, I would pray that they wouldn't punch as hard, and that you would dodge a bit faster. I lived in constant fear that one day, you wouldn't return. I couldn't even begin to fathom how I would deal with the pain. You act like no one knows agony like you do, Danny, but trust me, _I know too_."

"WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT?" Dan's thunderous voice erupted like a volcano, filling the icy room with his blistering frustration, "I AM NOT YOUR DANNY! Danny is _dead_! And you know how I know?" Dan twisted his face down to Sam's. "Because _I_ was the one who killed him. After separating from his human-half and melding with Vlad's ghost-half, I found him cowering in the corner like a pathetic puppy. And do you know what I did?" Dan extended a clawed hand palm-up in front of Sam's face and closed his fingers with a revolting crunching sound. "I _ripped_ out his _heart_, _and watched it beat its last moments in my bloody hands_."

* * *

><p>As Vlad floated invisibly in front of the United States White House, he couldn't help but beam at how wonderful his plan was working out. He was going to be positively unstoppable with the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage, Danny Phantom was out of the way, and before the end of the day, the entire world would be his, with the additional glorious prize of Dan Phantom, whether he knows it or not.<p>

And, if by some lucky chance Danny Phantom somehow outsmarts his older self and becomes the winner of their little hot-headed reunion, then all Vlad would have to do is kidnap one of his friends or family members and hold them for the magnificent ransom of Danny's eternal service. Danny's heart had always been his greatest weakness.

"And what do you think _you're_ doing here?"

A thin red wisp rose from Vlad's mouth and he whipped around. He knew that voice. His eyes scanned his surroundings, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'm _invisible_, doofus," came the voice again, now directly in front of him.

Vlad raised an eyebrow. He definitely recognized that tone. "Well if it isn't Danielle, coming to hang out with her dear old father again?"

Dani Phantom laughed, circling around Vlad. "You're hilarious. That's _exactly_ why I'm here."

Vlad slowly rotated himself around, following her voice. "So tell me, why can you see me, but I can't see you?"

Dani rolled her eyes. "Probably some accidental mutation you gave me somewhere down your road of insanity?"

"Hmm," Vlad tapped a finger to his chin, "That's very interesting…"

"Anyways, you never answered my question," said Dani, crossing her arms, "What are you doing here? I saw you outside of the city, and followed you, because I _know_ you're up to no good."

"What, I can't just do some summer sight-seeing?" Vlad replied casually, "Enjoy a little fresh air?"

"Definitely not, since you should still be floating in space, Mr. I-Totally-Failed-At-Ruling-The-World-Because-I'm-A-Crazy-Fruit-Loop."

Vlad honed in on Dani's voice, fixating on her location with his ears. "Ah, well if you must know," he replied slowly, "I've come down to humbly change that title to something a bit more fitting."

Dani snorted. "Humbly? Right. Nothing you do is every humble."

"Okay," grinned Vlad, "Not humbly. How about _forcefully_?" As he said the last word, he shot a magenta ecto-plasmic ray at where he thought Dani was. However, the ray hit a column on the White House instead, sending it crumbling down in an explosion of smoke and dust. A split-second later, a swarm of hysterical security enveloped the area.

"Oh, sugar-biscuits!" muttered Vlad frustratingly, "Definitely not what I had planned!" He twisted around and listened for Dani, but she had flown off long before he had shot the ray.

Dani surged forward in the sky without even looking back._ I have to warn Danny!_

* * *

><p>Sam's breathing shuddered and she stared at Dan with wide eyes. "And you have no remorse?" she implored.<p>

"Why should I?" replied Dan scathingly, still inches from Sam's face, "I did him a favor. I removed him from the pain of losing everyone."

"A pain that you still carry, _Dan_," Sam spat out his name coldly.

Dan smirked. "Ah, what a quick learner you are. I should give you a cookie."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Don't ignore the topic. You can never remove the hurt from losing everyone you ever loved, so don't pretend you don't have any emotions left."

"Pretend?" Dan laughed, "Who's pretending? I removed that weaker side years ago. I _have_ no emotions left."

"But you still carry the memories, don't you," stated Sam, staring squarely at Dan, "You still remember everything, especially the pain, and it's the pain that's caused you to morph even the good memories into fuel for your hatred."

Dan glared at her. "You know nothing!"

Sam opened her mouth to object, but then sighed. "You're right," she said softly, looking away.

Dan was slightly caught off guard. "What?"

"It's true. I _don't_ know…I can have nightmares about losing-" Sam stopped herself from saying 'you', and continued, "Losing Danny and everyone I've cared about, but it's not reality. I can fathom it, but I've never experienced it, no matter how close…Danny…ever was to dying." She looked back at Dan, whose expression for once wasn't twisted in anger or sinister delight—his face was almost…quizzical. "I _don't_ know everything you've been through, Dan, but I _want_ to know. I just don't believe that just by joining Danny's ghost-half with Vlad's can make you so entirely malevolent, and leave no traces of humanity within you at all."

Dan's eyes bored into Sam's, his crimson eyes smoldering into her bright purple irises. He remained silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say. Finally, he walked a few feet from Sam and sat down on the cold ground. All of a sudden, he felt…tired. He sighed. "Because Danny's ghost-half was too weak to fight against Vlad's evil."

Sam noticed the decreasing fiery angst in Dan's eyes, and stared back intriguingly. "But you still retained Danny's memories, not Vlad's."

Again, a few more seconds of stillness passed before Dan spoke, his answer just as terse as before, "Danny's memories were stronger."

Sam nodded, finally beginning to understand. Every ghost has an obsession that makes them remain on earth for eternity. While Vlad's ghost was fixated with evil and power, Danny's ghost was relentlessly haunted by his memories. When the two fused, so did their obsessions, ultimately creating the phantom staring so fixedly at her only few feet away—a phantom whose only memories were those that would never forgive their sting.

_Or maybe…_

Sam tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling and sighed. "Do you remember that time in third grade," she began slowly, "When someone dared Tucker to climb to the top of the jungle gym, and he did, and ended up being stuck, and he screamed so loud it brought out people from the surrounding houses?" A faint smile danced on her lips.

Dan stared Sam incredulously. Hearing no response, Sam closed her eyes and her voice calmed, "And that one time we were playing hide-in-seek at his house, and I had a brilliant idea to hide in the Christmas tree…but ended up knocking the whole thing over, which scared his mom's cat into shredding the draperies in their living room…" Sam chuckled. "Yea, we weren't allowed back over there for a good six months I think.

"Oh," Sam's voice livened slightly, "And do you remember Ares? The dragon? Y—Danny won him at the fair for me…I remember he wouldn't leave until he got that stuffed animal. I actually still have it…"

Dan frowned. _Ares, the dragon…? A little dark red dragon, with golden wings…and fearsome brooding eyes…_

"_Look Danny! Look at this dragon!" Sam pointed at a stuffed animal behind the carnival booth. "Isn't it absolutely cool looking?"_

_Danny saw the toy and laughed. "It definitely suits you." He handed Sam his bag of popcorn and fished around his pocket for some tokens._

"_Wait, what are you doing?" asked Sam, confused. _

"_Getting you an early birthday present," Danny replied, grinning. _

"And then there was that time when we baked cookies in your—I mean, Danny's—kitchen, but we decided to make up our own ingredients," Sam continued, picturing the comical mess behind her closed eyelids, "Those cookies tasted absolutely awful. I think we mixed gummy bears with licorice sticks and peppermint candies? And Tucker mixed everything with orange soda…"

Sam opened her eyes and to peer at Dan, who was frowning intently at the ground. Dan remained silent however, avoiding her eyes. Sam slowly leaned back and returned to her musings down memory lane. It helped her escape this unfeeling prison, and allowed her to forget the sting on her wrists from the tight binds and chill creeping in all around her. Whether or not Dan could remember… well, that was up to him. She closed the door to their childhood memories and made her way down the hallways in the recesses of her mind to closer times.

"I was really close to telling Danny I liked him before he went to fight King Pariah Dark…but in the end I was still too afraid." Sam paused, and closed her eyes again.

Dan continued to stare at the ground, tracing images and voices in his mind…

"_Danny, please…" Sam's purple eyes were full of fear. _

"_Come on guys. You didn't think it was always going to be as easy as shoving the Box Ghost into the Fenton Thermos, did you? I'll be back."_

"_Your mom used the word 'fatal'."_

"_Guys, _I'll be back!_…But, if there's anything you wanted to say to me, now might be an excellent time to do it…"_

_Sam bit her lips. "I—"_

"Also," continued Sam, "during that whole Ecto-Acne disaster…"

"_When you see Danny, tell him—"_

"_Why don't you tell me yourself?"_

"And then after dating Gregor…Elliott…I finally realized I didn't want to be with anyone other than Danny…and that it was _more_ than just a silly childhood crush…"

"_So, I—I'm sorry. I never should have betrayed your trust by spying on you and your…boyfriend."_

"_Ugh, he's _not_ my boyfriend. I dumped him as soon as I figured out you were right about him being a phony. Apparently that _is_ the only way a boy can like me…"_

"_That's not true."_

"_That's _totally_ not true! There are a _million_ reasons a boy could you, I mean, you're smart, you're fun, you're cool, you're pretty—"_

_Sam looked sideways at Tucker and blushed. _

"_Why am I still talking I am such a spaz. Still friends?"_

"_Psh, the best." _

"But I had thought his heart already belonged to Valerie by then," sighed Sam. "He did seem pretty heartbroken after she wanted to remain just friends…" She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Dan, and finally found him staring back. His eyes all of a sudden seemed…different, but that could have been the trick of the light…

"So you see," whispered Sam, "I had never lied to you; I had never pretended; there was never a mirage. My heart had always been yours. I just always thought your heart was elsewhere." She peered nervously at Dan, anxious of his reaction.

However, to her surprise, he didn't explode with rage. Instead he responded, his voice empty of any traces of anger, "I never felt the same way with her like I did when I was with you."

Sam exhaled slowly. "I know…Danny—you—told me. We were just both so afraid of being wrong, and ending with heartbreak and a ruined friendship."

Dan looked away. "It didn't matter—for me at least—in the end. I lost everything that could ever be lost."

"That's not true. You didn't lose your memories."

"My memories…" Dan sighed and looked back at Sam. _There _is_ something different about his eyes_, thought Sam. "My memories," continued Dan, "were the roots of my anguish."

"No," argued Sam, "Your _bad_ memories were, because you pushed away anything filled with happiness or love—memories I've been reminding you of."

"Memories that are dead to me…"

"Memories you _thought_ were dead," corrected Sam, "But they're still alive."

Dan furrowed his eyebrows and stared off to the side. "I—so…Ember's spell—"

"Was just a spell," sighed Sam morosely, "But trust me, I wanted so badly for it to have been real…"

"_Danny, I'm so sorry, I—I…"_

"_You and Dash…but we were—"_

_Sam looked down dejectedly. _

_Danny sighed. "—but we weren't, were we?"_

"_No, Ember did that. It's just…this is so hard, because part of me—part of me _really_ liked this…"_

"But I wanted you to like me by your own choice, not because of some spell," continued Sam. "I'm sorry I had to break your heart in order to break the spell…"

"And you still liked me, after I went after Valerie…and Paulina…"

Sam nodded and looked at her lap. "I had dug myself a hole that had become too deep for me climb out of."

"We were both digging ourselves holes."

"Yes, I guess." Sam looked up and Dan and gave him a tiny smile. "But at some point we started digging sideways and met in the middle." A blanket of silence fell upon the room, wrapping Sam and Dan softly with their thoughts.

Dan abruptly looked up. "I wasn't lying when I said I missed you the most."

Sam stared deeply into Dan's eyes, and suddenly realized they seemed different because their red color was slowly dimming. "Danny?" she breathed, her heart pounding.

Dan stood up and gazed at her regretfully. He slowly made his way up to her, and then turned to walk behind her chair. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "Danny's dead, Sam. I killed him, remember?"

Sam shuddered and closed her eyes. _I know…_

* * *

><p>Danny wasn't sure how long he had been flying after the beeping Boo-merang. <em>An hour, maybe?<em> The sun had long disappeared behind a heavy mantle of gray clouds, and time seemed to have taken a stand-still in this world is silver haze. Below him was an ocean of dark trees, foreboding and silent. He could see the faint lines of a dirt path winding its way through the trees, which the Boo-merang seemed to be following. He apprehensively expected the device to drop at any second and land at Dan's feet. He could picture his malevolent smile and sharp fangs, and could hear his piercing and deep laugh. The image constantly floated through his mind as he watched the trees pass by underneath. Was Dan hiding in a secluded area of a forest? Dangling Sam from a tree branch, just waiting for his prey to fall into his trap and say farewell?

Danny forced the thought out of his head. Sam was going to be okay. There was no sense in Dan killing her if Danny was the one he was after.

_Right?_

Danny had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the Boo-merang had begun to drop in altitude. Soon he found himself skimming the tops of the trees, and then swerving around trunks and branches, and then finally, the Boo-merang skidded to a halt in the dirt. Danny landed, and saw he was at the entrance of an expansive circular concrete building. It contained no windows, but only one metal door looming in front of him, daring him to enter, and refusing to let him leave.

Danny inhaled deeply and squared his shoulders. _Hang in there Sam, I'm coming to get you._

* * *

><p>Sam unexpectedly felt the bonds around her wrists loosen, and all of a sudden they were free. She brought her hands forward, wincing slightly as sharp prickles of pain washed over them as the feeling returned to her fingers. She stood up slowly and turned to face Dan.<p>

"You're free to go," he said, refusing to meet her eyes.

Sam walked over to Dan, and gently touched his arm. He looked up, and Sam was shocked to see the last traces of red fade away in his eyes. Suddenly she was staring into the bright green eyes of the ghost of her best friend. He smiled sadly, and raised a finger to gently touch Sam's cheek, tracing her soft skin to her jaw line. He finally unclenched his fingers on his other hand to reveal the turquoise and gold ring he was holding the entire time. He brought Sam's hand forward and slipped the ring back onto her finger. Sam watched him, wordlessly.

Dan sighed, and tilted Sam's chin up so she could meet his eyes. "You had always loved me, hadn't you?"

Sam nodded, and smiled. Before Dan could react, she had her arms around him. "Yes," she breathed into his chest, warm tears streaking down her face, "I had always loved you, and always will…Danny."

Dan stiffened, but then he let his arms gently close around Sam's petite figure. He lowered his face into her hair, and breathed in that familiar scent of lavender and Sam. Dan closed his eyes, and finally he let the years of ice melt away and fall down as tears. The darkness and pain all of a sudden gave way, and in his mind he was back to being a fourteen-year old boy, with his best friend in his arms, and his family and Tucker surrounding them, alive and happy.

"_About time you two lovebirds got together," grinned Tucker. _

"_Aww see," said Jack, putting an arm around Maddie and winking at her, "I knew that ring would come in handy."_

_Jazz just smiled. "I knew you would make the right decision, little brother." _

Dan tightened his arms around Sam, letting the feeling of warmth and comfort—and love—fill his mind, his soul, and his heart. And for the first time in twelve years, he didn't feel like just a ghost anymore. He felt…human.

"Forgive me Sam," he murmured tearfully into Sam's hair. "I'm so sorry…"

"Me too," replied Sam, looking up at Dan through her tears, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

And that's how Danny found them when he blasted through the door.

* * *

><p>Yikes! There's definitely going to be a showdown now!<p>

I'm sorry for the slow updates, but I like to take my time on these chapters. I'm usually busy during the day too, so I only have a few hours at night to write.

Also, I'm apologize for having to revise Chapter 5 and re-do the locket scene :\ It made the story better though!

I love reading all your reviews! Thank you so much! They make me :D

(Past Danny Phantom episode dialogues used, in order of appearance: "Flirting with Disaster", "Reign Storm", "Masters of All Time", "Double Cross My Heart", "Fanning the Flames".)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

A wildfire is a feral and insatiable inferno that knows no laws except to satisfy its selfish hunger for fuel. It hisses at any the feeble attempts to douse its anger, and rejoices in its destruction with thunderous roars. It lunges where the wind takes it, crackling and screaming, blinded by the desire to consume. A wildfire is a monster that knows no reason.

Three conditions must be met to rouse a wildfire: bitter dryness, ferocious winds, and blazing temperatures. Add a single ember, and a colossal beast is born, erupting straight from the gates of Hell.

When Danny saw Dan's arms engulfing the vulnerable figure of Sam, the image struck a flint deep within his soul. All the frustration, pain, fear, and worry piling like sharp and suffocating dried branches in his mind and heart erupted into flames, and suddenly Danny could see nothing but the blood-red fire of his inferno.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" He summoned his fury into a vivid green ray, and Dan found himself crashing into the opposite concrete wall.

Sam spun around. "Danny! No!"

Danny rushed over to Sam and cupped her face in his hands. "Sam! Are you okay?" he asked frantically.

Sam gasped. "Danny, your eyes—why are they red?"

Danny ignored her comment. "I won't let anything else happen to you. I promise." He tore his eyes from her face and focused on Dan climbing out of the rubble across the room. "Here, use this to protect yourself, and run; go somewhere safe." He hurriedly placed a Fenton Wrist-Ray in her hands and lunged after Dan.

"Danny!" Sam yelled after him, "Wait!"

But Sam's cries were drowned out by the roar inside Danny. He yelled and shot another ray at Dan.

Dan quickly formed a shield to block it. He glanced fleetingly at Sam, who was still standing where they had embraced only a minute ago. Her eyes were filled with terror. He turned back to Danny and yelled, "I don't want to fight you!"

This however, further enraged Danny and the flames hissed back. "Excellent! Then I'll just do _all_ the fighting!" His eyes glowed azure momentarily and launched a beam of powerful cold at his target. Dan twisted out of the way, and then vanished.

"Coward!" bellowed Danny, blasting the area where Dan was standing a second ago, "Why don't you fight me! Isn't that what you brought me here? Isn't that why you took Sam?"

"I said," came Dan's voice from above, "_I don't want to fight you_."

Danny spun around, glaring around the room with a maddening frenzy as Dan's deep voice echoed off every dark corner. "You really think I would just give up this easily?" he shouted, the fire within swirling in a choking haze, "You _terrorized_ my school, _kidnapped_ Sam, and _hurt_ her, and you think I would just _give up_ and let you walk away? I didn't destroy you last time—a mistake _I will not make again_ because anyone who lays a finger on Sam, _dies_!" He unleashed an explosive ray randomly into the dark, destroying an entire side wall to reveal the shadows of an adjacent room.

Sam flinched at the sound and twisted away as fragments flew past her. "Danny!" she yelled again, "Please stop! Let Dan explain!"

Danny jerked around at the sound of Sam's voice, and was furious to see her still standing in the same spot. "I told you to run!" he snapped.

"And I told you to stop!" Sam screamed back.

"This isn't your battle, Sam!" He flew over to her and grabbed her wrist.

Sam gave a small yelp of surprise. "Danny, what's happening to you?"

Danny paid her no heed once more and dragged her to what remained of the doorway. He turned to her and pulled her close. "I promised to never let anything happen to you, Sam, and I intend to keep that promise, so please, GO!" With his last word he pushed Sam into the hallway. She stumbled slightly and turned back to stare at a retreating Danny with tears forming in her eyes. She had never seen him so livid before. Instead of their bright green, his eyes were a piercing red, and they sent tremors through her heart every time she looked into them. For a second she worried if perhaps Danny was being controlled again by something similar to Freakshow's Crystal Ball Staff.

_No_, _I don't think he's being controlled—at least not by anything physical. It's his anger that's controlling him, and turning him into..._ Realization hit her and she staggered backwards, tripping over the wreckage and falling to the ground. She gasped in pain, and looked up to see Danny glaring around the room with a terrible blood-thirsty and wild look in his eyes.

_Danny's turning into _him_._ _Danny's turning into _Dan_. _

"This isn't a game of hide-and-seek, Dan!" shouted Danny, "Show yourself!"

"You have no right to treat Sam like that," replied Dan, still invisible. His voice was steady, but laced with a trace of regret that was unfortunately lost to his younger self.

Danny's eyes flashed and he felt his head swim with outrage. "Who do you think you _are_, telling _me_ how to treat Sam, when _you_ just_ held her hostage_?"

He glared heatedly at the ceiling, and didn't hear Sam approach him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and he whipped around at the sudden touch. When he met a pair of familiar amethyst eyes, his temper flared once more. "_I told you to leave!"_ he shouted at her, "_Why aren't you listening to me?_"

Sam, however, didn't flinch at his forceful words. "I will leave," she answered evenly even when her eyes shimmered with tears, "But only if you leave with me too."

Danny's eyes drilled into hers, and he found his frustration rising once more at her words. However, before he could retaliate with more biting words, a crash from above sent both of them ducking to the ground. When the dust cleared, they were shocked to see Vlad on top of the broken concrete pile, staggering angrily to his feet. Danny looked up, and saw Valerie and his parents appear, along with Tucker and Jazz in the Specter Speeder flanked by Wulf and Dani Phantom.

"_You're still alive?_" exclaimed Vlad furiously when he saw Danny, "Oh this is preposterous! I've had ENOUGH!" He spun back towards the team above him and shot a ray from his hands, trapping everyone and the Specter Speeder in an inescapable orb, similar to the one he used to contain Danny at Casper High, except this time the sphere was the color of translucent smoky copper.

"Quite the attractive color isn't it," grinned Vlad, "One of the many side-effects of The Crown and Ring."

Danny quickly charged at Vlad, his teeth bared and his fist pulled back, but a scarlet ray emitted from his right hit Vlad first, sending him across the room. Danny gnashed his teeth and looked at the source of the beam and found Dan had finally materialized.

"Great," growled Danny, "Now I don't know who to hit first!"

"You can pick and choose however you want, Danny," answered Dan, speaking quickly and not looking at his younger self but instead focusing his attention on Vlad, "But I won't fight you, so I suggest you focus your energy on Vlad, or find a way to free your friends and family, and get out of here."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "_Don't tell me what to do_."

"Dan Phantom!" barked Vlad, seething with anger at the unbelievable sight in front of him, "This is not a play-date! Why haven't you destroyed Daniel yet?"

Dan gave a last meaningful glance at Danny, and turned his eyes back to Vlad. "Because he's not the villain here." He shot towards Vlad, barraging him with red rays as he flew. "And I take orders from no one!"

Vlad dodged the rays easily, and fired back with flames of dark indigo between yelling irritated words, "This! Is! Ridiculous! I! Gave! You! _Freedom_!" As he shouted the last word, a flame finally hit its mark and Dan tumbled backwards onto the ground. "If I knew you would turn soft I would have left you in that thermos to rot for eternity!"

Sam took advantage of the commotion to run to the glowing prison trapping her friends. They were all firing their weapons or attacking the shield, but to no avail. Not even Wulf's powerful claws that could tear through dimensions were effective against the infinite power of Vlad's Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage.

"Is everyone alright?" called Sam as she reached the sphere.

"Sam!" Tucker made his way over to her, "Yeah, we're good. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered, "Don't worry, we'll get you out of—"

"LOOK OUT!" Tucker yelled and pointed behind her.

Sam twisted around to see Vlad hurl a burning globe of electricity directly at her. She tried to duck away, but she knew it was too late. Then suddenly, Danny emerged in front of her and caught the ball of energy. He spun around with its momentum, and threw it forcibly back at Vlad. The ferocious tempest of flames inside Danny had reached its maximum intensity, and he felt ready to explode with searing wrath. His eyes blazed like the blood-red sun, and he could concentrate on nothing but the lust for revenge.

"NO ONE LAYS A FINGER ON SAM!" As he shouted her name, he released a terrible piercing shriek that shook the entire building. Sam and everyone in Vlad's spherical prison immediately fell to their knees, covering their ears. Danny aimed his Ghostly Wail at Vlad, who gave an angry gasp before smashing stridently through the concrete behind him. Dan also found himself hurled into a crumbling wall and becoming buried with rubble. After what seemed like eternity, Danny's Ghostly Wail faded away, and he collapsed to his knees, losing power and transforming back into his human form with a groan.

"Danny!" Sam inched forward on the ground wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "Danny are you okay?"

Danny merely groaned again and brought his hand to his head. His breaths came deep and fast, and the one arm supporting him on the ground shuddered.

Sam peered into silent swirling dust from the wreckage across the room and felt a surge of apprehension. "Come on," she said gently, helping Danny stand, "We need to figure out a way to free everyone and get out of here, now."

"I'm afraid I can't let any of that happen, my dear," came an chilling voice.

Sam looked up fearfully and watched as the haze parted to reveal Vlad. He flashed his fangs gleefully raised his hand towards Danny and Sam. "You know, I hate it when my plans don't go…well, as planned, and you are absolutely infuriating me. I should have killed you when I had the chance earlier today! _Goodbye, _Danny Phantom!" A ghostly black flame suddenly burst forth from his palm. It took the shape of a demonic creature with needle fangs and jagged claws, and surged through the air with a deafening roar.

Before Danny could react, Sam summoned every ounce of strength left in her body and pushed him away. And then a blinding flash enveloped her senses and she could feel nothing but a torrential downpour of pain that seemed to be tearing apart every limb in her body…and then her eyes closed, and she could feel nothing more.

* * *

><p>So, I have some bad news, and some good news.<p>

Bad news: This chapter was super short D:

Good news: Chapter 8 will definitely not take a week to update! :D It's already written, and I just need to make a few final tweaks, so I'm predicting that I'll have it up by Wednesday.

And yes, I do realize Dan's ghost-rays in the cartoon are still green, but red serves as much more of a contrast.

(But most importantly, I forgot they were green when I wrote Chapter 4 XD)

I know I've said this before, but I'm going to keep saying it until you get sick of hearing it, but **thank you** so much! For reading, reviewing, story/author-alerting, favoriting, and just making me smile on a daily basis. Thank you thank you!


	8. Chapter 8

Ahead of schedule! Whoo!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

The raging inferno inside Danny perished, and he opened his mouth in terror to yell Sam's name, but his ears were deaf to the sound. Silence was all he could hear—asphyxiating silence, both outside and in. His legs felt like lead with a nightmarish quality as he willed them to move forward, until he finally dropped down on his knees next to her motionless form. He pulled her into his lap and stared wordlessly into her closed eyes, and bent over to press his forehead against hers. If death was ever an option to turn back time, he would have gladly accepted the trade.

"Sam, _no_…" His throat felt like burning asphalt as he choked out her name. "I made a promise…so please don't force me to break this promise, _please_…"

Vlad was absolutely delighted at the turn of events. He turned to the rest of his prisoners in the glowing orb and a conniving plan came to mind. He had learned from his mistake with Dan that the only good slave was one with a broken spirit—and someone who had something to lose. He raised the hand with the Ring of Rage towards the globe, and clenched his fingers into a fist. At once the sphere began to slowly collapse in size, startling its prisoners into panic.

Danny jerked his head up at the sounds of his friends and family's frantic yells, and then looked at Vlad with terror and loathing. "What are you doing? Stop!"

"Oh I will," replied Vlad casually, "_If_ you agree to a few terms of mine."

Danny's eyes flashed and a ring of silver erupted around his torso.

Vlad shook a finger at Danny. "Nuh uh uh, unless you want me to squeeze your pretty little family and friends into a pulp faster than you can say 'Going Ghost'!"

Dan, who had finally emerged from beneath a slab of concrete, regarded the scene before him in muted horror. _No...!_ His eyes fell upon Vlad, who was watching the drama unfold with a sickening grin on his face. Without warning, Dan felt something terrible snap within him. _I will _not_ lose everything and everyone, AGAIN!_ He charged through the air at Vlad and threw his fist into his jaw. Vlad's head twisted back on impact and he found himself stumbling slightly. Dan raised his fist to punch again, but Vlad clamped harshly down on his wrist with his hand, blocking him. Dan growled and a jet of red energy erupted from his fist into Vlad's face, knocking him backwards and freeing Dan's arm.

"Leave them alone, Vlad!" spat Dan.

Vlad smoothly raised himself off the ground and laughed, quietly at first, but growing gradually into maniacal intensity. "Oh this is all _too_ precious. Did something the little Goth say to you make you grow a heart? It's too late now. That black Ghost Demon Ray meant to destroy Daniel will slowly poison her, until she's nothing but cold and dead."

"I _won't_ let that happen!"

"Ha!" barked Vlad, "And what makes you think _you_ can prevent the _inevitable_?"

"Because," Dan glanced at Danny, who was watching him perplexedly, "Two years ago, I made a promise to my family and friends, and I intend to keep that promise."

Vlad let out another guffaw. "You? A promise? Ha! _Please_. You're not _Danny_."

Dan turned his eyes to the unconscious figure of Sam, whose lips and skin were gradually losing their warm color, and to his family and friends inside the shrinking sphere, staring at him with shocked expressions. Finally his eyes rested on Danny—the boy he was, and remembered; an image of the fate he could have lived; and still could live. _Take care of Sam._

Dan turned back to Vlad. "_Yes I am_," he answered in a steel tone, "My name is Danny Fenton and it has _always_ been Danny. And Vlad old-man," he glared, "it's about _time_ we put an end to this."

Vlad snarled and raised a clenched and glowing fist, but Dan was faster. He leapt into the air and flew into Vlad like a spear, swiftly overshadowing him. Vlad immediately staggered back and clenched his chest, choking. "_You want your reward for freeing me_?" It was Dan's voice, coming from Vlad's mouth as a fearsome deep roar, "_How about an eternity in Hell!_"

Vlad suddenly unleashed a terrible yell that shook the entire room. Danny instantly transformed into his phantom-form and turned Sam and himself intangible just as a cement slab from the ceiling crashed through them.

"DANNY!"

Danny whipped around at Jazz's scream, and saw with dread that the copper orb was still crushing in on his family and friends. With a strident crunch of metal and glass, the Specter Speeder trapped inside gave way. Danny raised his hand and shot a glowing ray at the sphere, but the beam ricocheted off and whizzed back past his head. He turned frantically back to Vlad and was immediately blinded by flashes of white light erupting from Vlad's torso. He brought an arm up to shield his eyes and watched in shock as a wormhole of swirling black and purple ripped open in Vlad's chest, and suddenly filling the room with a massive whirlwind. Danny ducked as debris flew over his head, and he instinctually turned Sam intangible once more. He quickly shot out a long whip-like chain of green energy and enclosed the copper sphere, straining to hold it in place as the winds became fiercer.

"NEITHER ONE OF US CAN LIVE, VLAD," erupted Dan's voice again, "AND NEITHER ONE OF US WILL!"

Vlad's silent expression was a vivid mix of sheer terror and extreme fury: his eyes bulged like glowing green saucers, and his mouth was set to a silent scream, emitting uncontrollably the words of Dan. He strained to move his neck to see the fissure in his chest, and dropped heavily to his knees. He struggled to overpower Dan, but it was too late. The laws of time could not allow duplications, and Vlad and Dan's destructions were sealed. With another blinding burst of light, the twisters of wind abated, and when the dust subsided, only empty space and a ray of hushed sunlight remained where Vlad once stood.

A heavy crash and several gasps were heard to his side, and Danny looked up to see his family and friends tumbling to the ground as their prison vanished. His heart immediately lightened at the sight of everyone safe…or, nearly everyone, and his heart sunk once more as he looked down at the silent figure of Sam. He wrapped his arms around her cold body and brought her closer, breathing raggedly into her soft hair.

_This is all my fault._

Danny felt someone place a hand gently on his shoulder.

_None of this should have happened. _

"Danny, we're really sorry…" Jazz's voice was faint and sounded far away in Danny's mind.

_Vlad was after _me_, not you. _

He heard Tucker choke out words of pain behind him. Someone else was softly crying.

_It should have been me; it was meant for me. I should have been the one to get hurt, not you._

He shut his eyes tightly and held his breath, but still an uncontrollable sob escaped.

_No, Sam, please don't go. I need you. Please don't…please…_

Maddie knelt down next to her son. "Danny, oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. But I don't think there's anything we can do…"

_I don't believe you Mom, I don't believe you…there has to be something, anything…The orb disappeared…the poison has to too…_

"Danny?" continued Maddie tenderly, "Let's at least…bring her home."

Danny didn't answer her, but remained silently crying, his tears falling like a slow rain into Sam's hair.

Maddie sighed, and stood up. "We'll meet you back home Danny, when you're ready…" Wordlessly, she motioned the others to leave.

Soon Danny was left in silence. He opened his eyes and blinked away the tears, and gazed up at the rays of light pouring from the hole in the ceiling, illuminating swirling specks of dust. He reached into his pocket and took out Sam's locket, and held it to the light just like he did before he arrived at this personal Hell. With a jagged sigh, he gently shifted Sam and tied the locket around her pale neck, and reached down to kiss her lips. They were like ice, and the mere sting of cold brought another wretched sob out of Danny.

_Sam, I am so sorry…please forgive me…_

Suddenly, Danny felt a feeling of warmth envelop his arms. Startled, he looked down and saw a rosy tinge return to Sam's cheeks, her lips, and then the rest of her body. He held his breath and watched with dream-like quality as Sam stirred and gradually opened her eyes.

"Danny?" she finally whispered.

Danny exhaled a great sigh of relief. "Sam, you're alive…!"

Sam reached a hand to gingerly touch his cheek. Danny took her hand into his and kissed it lightly. She searched his eyes and a soft smile appeared. "Your eyes are green again."

Danny nodded, smiling and crying tears of relief at the same time. "I'm so sorry Sam. I should have listened to you. This was all my fault. I should have—"

He was silenced by Sam slipping her hand from Danny's and placing a finger gently on his lips. "It's okay Danny."

Danny embraced her tightly, squeezing his eyes shut and letting the last of his tears fall. He breathed into her warm hair and whispered, "It wasn't okay, Sam. I thought I almost lost you."

"You clearly underestimate," replied Sam into Danny's chest, "It's going to take a lot more than a crazy fruit-loop to get rid of me!"

Danny reached a hand to wipe his eyes and chuckled. "Well I'm glad you're feeling better already."

"Speaking of which…" Sam turned her head to regard the room for the first time since she woke up, "What happened? Where's Dan?" She sat up straighter and looked around.

"He uh…" Danny swallowed and his eyes drifted to the area where Vlad had once stood, "He overshadowed Vlad…and somehow a wormhole was created and they both vanished into it…" His eyes returned to Sam and he watched her anxiously. "I'm sorry…"

Sam's eyes lowered and she sank back into Danny's arms. "I should be the one to apologize." She gazed back at Danny, her lovely violet eyes shimmering. "It was _my_ death that drove you over the edge," she whispered, "It was _me_ who made you evil."

Danny gave her a soft smile and lifted her chin up tenderly with his finger. "No," he replied, "It was you who made me a hero." And he finally lowered his head and kissed her, feeling her warm lips against his, and joyfully knowing that her life was still hers to keep.

When they finally parted, Danny slowly stood up, still cradling Sam in his arms. He smiled at her and lightly kissed her forehead. "Let's go home."

The clouds had cleared when Danny and Sam emerged outside, and the surrounding forest was awash with the bright colors of a glowing afternoon. The trees below, instead of appearing frozen and ominous, swayed relaxingly in the breeze, bringing comforting scents of pine and earth to Danny and Sam. Two birds played among the tree tops, and darted up past the couple, chirping playfully.

"Where did everyone else go?" Sam wondered aloud, her eyes following the birds.

"They went ahead first," Danny answered, deciding to leave out the reason behind their separate departure. All will be explained in time...

"Oh." Sam tightened her arms around Danny and burrowed deeper into his chest, relishing the smooth feel of the fabric against his muscles.

"Why did you do it?" Danny finally asked, "Why did you take the hit for me?"

"Because love is not a feeling of happiness; love is a willingness to sacrifice."

"Shakespeare?"

"Michael Novak, actually."

"No idea who that is." Danny paused, and then considered the quote. "So you um, really love me?"

Sam merely smiled into Danny's chest. "And I know you really love me."

"Telekinesis?"

"Because you and Dan are still one of the same."

Danny and Sam remained silent for a few moments, both contemplating the meaning of her words.

"How did you get him to change?"

"By understanding him." Sam paused and a smile came to her lips. "And by letting him know that love still exists."

"So you became a therapist to a ghost," smiled Danny.

Sam chuckled. "No," she closed her eyes and felt a warmth radiate through her that didn't come from the golden sunlight, "I became a friend to a hero—a phantom martyr."

"Sam?"

Sam looked up and found herself staring in Danny's clear blue eyes—eyes that would always seem like magnets, never failing to draw her heart and soul closer. "Yes Danny?"

"I love you too." And Danny captured her lips into a kiss—a kiss burning with tenderness and intensity and passion.

A kiss of remembrance and understanding.

A kiss of apologies and sacrifice and redemption.

And a kiss of love and forever.

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><p>:]<p>

Not the end! There is still an **Epilogue** to tie up loose ends.

Please review and let me know what you thought about this story! :D


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, as much as you all probably wish I did so I could make this into the a Season Finale or Movie :P

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

_**Two Years Later**_

"And now," announced Mr. Lancer from the podium with a smile, "I introduce to you our Casper High class Valedictorian, Daniel Fenton!"

The graduates sitting on the lawn before the raised stage cheered and clapped, a momentous sound echoed by the audience on the flanking bleachers. A loud whistle erupted from the stands, slicing through the applause, followed by a booming voice, "THAT'S MY BOY! AND I'M HIS FATHER! ME, JACK FENTON!"

Danny just smiled as he walked across the stage, pretending he didn't just hear his father yell to the entire Casper High graduating class, their families, friends, and oh, anyone else who happened to be watching this event live on national television. Apparently the high-school graduation ceremony of a world-renowned super-hero was the ticket for big network ratings these days.

Speaking of which, the flashes from the camera were quite disorienting, and combined with the rush of default adrenaline that accompanies any stage presence, it took Danny every nerve of self-control not to transform and zoom into the sky like a firework.

He finally made it to the podium without going blind or ghost, and unfolded the sheets of paper that contained the speech he had spent literally weeks preparing—ever since he was notified of his Valedictorian status. Of course he had been shocked almost into intangibility. He had expected the Valedictorian to be Mikey or Lester, or even Tucker or Sam, who surely had much more stellar grades than he did. But, according to Mr. Lancer, various factors are considered when choosing the school Valedictorian, not just grades. And, it was only revealed afterwards that Tucker and Sam had adamantly refused the title—Tucker didn't need it, as he had already acquired a prestigious scholarship for college and couldn't be bothered to write a speech after giving hundreds of them as Mayor, and Sam didn't want it, for silent reasons of her own.

Danny stood silent for a second, but in that brief second, he glanced at his two best friends sitting in the front row reserved for the top academically ranked students, and a thousand thoughts and memories surged before his eyes like one of the camera flashes. He remembered meeting Sam for the first time in second grade with Tucker, and how they had bonded over a competitive game of tag; he revisited all their childhood afternoons, playing in the park and traveling to vibrant imaginary lands; he recalled carnivals and fairs, adventures and toys; he remembered the first time he got his ghost powers after Sam convinced him into exploring the Ghost Portal; and all the ghost-fights he shared with his two best friends with all their wild journeys and unbelievable experiences where they learned more about each other, and their bonds of friendship swell and grew to fill their hearts; and he revived that treasured moment when he finally shared his first kiss with Sam on top of the hill, and gave her his heart entirely—of which she still embraced lovingly, two years later. But just as yin circles to yang, he also saw the darker memories—all the skinned-knees and broken pinky-swears, which evolved later into broken hearts and tearful arguments; all the bruises and cuts and exhausted sleepless nights; and all the lonely moments when he would watch the sun rise with bleary eyes as he slammed his textbooks shut. He also recalled all the battles he had almost lost, along with all the lives that could have followed.

But above all he remembered Dan—the manifestation of himself of what-could-have-been, but was not, and how he had torn open wounds with hate, and stitched them back together with love, all in one day. The memories filled with light made him smile, but it were those darker and more painful memories that made him learn and gave him strength, and it was Dan—and Sam—who had taught him the most valuable lesson in life—the true meaning of forgiveness, redemption, and love. Evil was never a definite, concrete, one-way street. Evil wasn't a trait; evil was a course—a collision of dominos pushed over by grief and loneliness, and the overwhelming feeling that no one could possibly understand. The only solution in stopping the collapse of towers was either to remove entirely one block in the chain-reaction, or by simply holding one in place. And that's what Sam did that day in May, two years ago. She listened, she understood, and she stood firm in not letting go.

Danny grinned at Sam and Tucker, and cleared his throat. At once, the crowd fell into anticipated silence.

"Good evening Casper High faculty, staff, parents, friends, and most importantly, the Class of 2011," began Danny, his voice resounding throughout the field and into the halcyon evening sky, "Many people ask me what being a hero is like. And I tell them, 'Well, it's a lot like surviving high-school, actually.'" He paused for the several chuckles from the students and audience.

"Being a hero—and student—involves taking responsibility for yourself and your actions, learning from your mistakes, overcoming obstacles you never dreamt you could ever face, persevering in the face of complete adversary, always striving for improvement, and a lot of late-night cram sessions. And I mean, _literally_ cramming ghosts into the Fenton Thermos." He was once more interrupted by hearty laughter, and a booming cheer from the audience, presumably from his father for the mentioning of a Fenton device.

"But most importantly," continued Danny, "Being a hero and a student means _believing in yourself_. Being a hero isn't about what abilities you have; it's about _who_ you are. It's about never giving up for the ones you care about. It means that even if you're afraid, and have no more ounce of courage left in you, you still go forward. It's about knowing that you're stronger than your adversary because you carry within you hope, and hope is the strongest superpower anyone could possess. Without hope that the day can be saved, even the most powerful entity couldn't stand a chance. But, those who believe and hold on to hope are the most dangerous, because anything is possible, and they will never, ever give up. I may be called a hero because of my ghost-powers, but I only become a hero when I believe that I can and will fight for what I believe in.

Everyone here is a hero, because the fact that you are sitting here this evening means you never gave up when challenges were thrown at you—academically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You survived studying for grueling tests or writing essays until the first rays of sunshine hit your tired eyes; you succeeded in putting together school dances and fundraisers even when there never seemed to be an end to last-minute-mistakes; you won games and tournaments in the name of Casper High by never giving up against foes larger and faster; you never let the music or dancing stop even when mistakes would trip you; and above all else, you would always rise above failure because you never, _ever_, stopped believing in yourself.

And if there's anything you remember from your time at Casper High, I hope it will be all your memories of accomplishment and love from family and friends, and with those two things, each and every one of us can be a hero in this game of survival.

I wrap up my speech with a quote from renowned writer William Faulkner." Danny paused and let his eyes rest on Sam. "'I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.'"

Sam smiled as Danny recited the quote. She recognized exactly who was his inspiration for including that specific passage.

Danny's eyes twinkled back at her knowingly before he returned his focus to the rest of his classmates. "So, without further ado, I congratulate you, Casper High School's Class of 2011! _We freaking did it!_"

The field exploded with a roar of applause and excited yells. Danny waved at the crowd and walked off the stage to take his place next to Sam.

"Good job," praised Sam as he sat down, "Maybe you should have replaced Tucker as mayor just for your speech-writing abilities!"

"Hey!" Tucker leaned over, "I heard that!"

Danny merely chuckled and put an arm around Sam's shoulders, and watched as Mr. Lancer returned to the podium for more announcements.

Later, after each Casper High graduate had received his or her diploma, the principal proudly presented the Class of 2011 and graduation caps and cheers exploded into the air. Danny hugged Sam and Tucker, and the three separated for a few minutes to search for their families.

"Congratulations Danny!" Maddie embraced her son and handed him an overflowing bouquet of flowers and balloons, "I know you didn't want any, but I just couldn't help myself…"

"And another Fenton goes to college!" Jack grabbed Danny and ruffled his hair, "I'm so proud of our name…I mean, uh, you!" Next to him, Maddie pulled out a camera and began snapping pictures.

"Good job little brother," smiled Jazz warmly, "Welcome to the wonderful world of college!"

"Speaking of which," piped a voice from behind Jazz, who stepped aside to reveal Dani, "Does that mean I get to claim _both_ your rooms now as my own?"

Danny laughed and Dani rushed forth and hugged him. "Well, sure," replied Danny, "That is, if you don't want me to ever visit again, because then I wouldn't have anywhere to sleep."

"Oh," Dani pretended to make a concerned face with her arms still wrapped around Danny, "Well there _is_ the couch still…"

Maddie laughed and lowered her camera. "Danielle sweetie, you know you have your own room. What could you possibly do with Danny's room?"

Dani shrugged and stuck out her tongue at Danny, "I don't know. I'm sure I'll think of something."

Just then, Valerie made her way over to Danny. Dani let go, and Danny opened his arms up for a giant hug from Valerie, while Maddie continued to snap away with her camera.

"Congratulations!" beamed Valerie.

"You too! I can't believe we made it!" said Danny breathlessly, releasing her.

"Well, I still need to go find my dad in this crowd, but I'll see you soon, right?"

Danny smiled. "Of course."

Valerie gave Danny a small peck on the cheeks and made her way back into the crowd. Danny's eyes followed her, until he heard another familiar voice call his name behind him. He turned around and saw Sam and Tucker, followed by their proud families, and what seemed like a professional team of photographers running in the wake of Mrs. and Mr. Manson and shouting frantic orders in French.

Tucker hi-fived Danny. "Yeah! Finally we're FREE!"

"Congrats grad!" beamed Sam as she leapt into Danny's arms.

Danny laughed and twirled her around, bouquet, balloons, and all, swirling around in a colorful bright world. When they stopped, they kissed, and the spinning seemed to still continue until they were both lost again.

"Oh, get a room you two!" said Tucker jokingly.

Danny pulled away from Sam, smiling, and turned to Tucker. "Aw, is Tuck jealous? Come here, group hug!" He reached out an arm towards Tucker. Sam laughed and did the same.

Tucker rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but then grinned and joined the embrace. "But no group kissing, okay?"

"Yoohoo graduates, smile for the camera!"

The three friends looked up over and saw Sam's mother waving at them with her handkerchief, as the breathless group of professional photographers hastily set up their equipment in front of them.

Sam sighed, and looked at the other two apologetically. "Sorry… my parents, you know…they couldn't resist…"

Danny turned towards the camera and put his arms around both his friends' shoulders. "Hey, this will make for the perfect picture to put over the mantle of the fireplace at our new house!"

"Oh because that doesn't scream 'narcissism' at all!" replied Sam, while still trying to keep a smile.

"No, 'narcissism' would be if we put a mirror there instead and I stared at it all day," retorted Tucker.

"Which, you already do," pointed out Sam.

"Hey! If you were this gorgeous, you'd stare at yourself all day too! Right Danny?" Tucker nudged his friend teasingly with his elbow.

Danny cleared his throat, but continued to smile at the cameras. "I'm ignoring that."

Sam sighed and shook her head. High school had the power to change people, but some things would always stay the same. She looked away from the cameras for a second, and found herself gazing skywards into the dark sapphire evening sky. The bright lights of the football field made it impossible to make out any stars, but she suddenly saw a lone shooting star streak brightly across the sky for a split second before fading away. She smiled inwardly, and wrapped her arm closely around Danny.

"_You had always loved me, hadn't you?"_

"_Yes. I had always loved you, and always will…Danny." _

Suddenly a thunderous boom broke Sam out of her reverie. Everyone looked up and saw a million colorful droplets rain across the sky. The students let out cheers as more and more fireworks lit up the sky. Tucker, Danny, and Sam looked at each other and grinned. This definitely wasn't the end of their journey—only the beginning of new adventures, and no matter what happens, they would always have each other—each a firework to the other that would never fail to light even the darkest of skies.

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><p>Clockwork smiled as he viewed the scene of Danny, Tucker, and Sam with their families and friends watching the sky full of fireworks from his watchtower portals. As he walked away and past the now empty chamber that once held Dan Phantom, a distant conversation echoed in his mind…<p>

"_The Observants look at time like they're watching a parade: one thing after another passing by in sequence right in front of them. I see the parade from above: all the twists and turns that might—or might not—take."_

"_You knew all of this was going to happen—all of it! Even this part!"_

"_Everything's the way it's supposed to be…"_

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><p><strong>The End<strong>

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><p><em>Acknowledgements:<em>

I want to thank YOU, my loyal reader and reviewer. No story can flourish without an audience and their support. Thank you so much for coming along this journey with me.

I also want to thank Butch Hartman and his team for creating Danny, Sam, Tucker, and all our favorite characters and their stories.

Lastly, thank you fanfiction . net for allowing all us writers with overactive imaginations a place to let go and escape reality.

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><p>Now that <em>Phantom Martyr<em> is finished, be one the look-out for more one-shots in _Puddles_, and my new series, _PhantomTV_! Yes, I'm going to make it its own stand-alone series. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I highly recommending checking the first two episodes of _PhantomTV_ in _Puddles_. Trust me, you won't be disappointed I hope…


	10. Extra: Deleted Scenes

**Deleted Scenes**

I kept these around just in case I wanted to add them back into the story-line. I never used them, but felt like it would be sort of interesting to share. I even added a few notes as to why the scene was deleted (other than the obvious "golly this sucks!" reasons).

So, if you're _really_ bored out of your mind, be my guest!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Sam's thoughts about the "Wes" ring<strong>

_Turquoise? And gold? Those are two way too cheery colors! But, it's from Danny, and that's all that matters. Still I can't help but wonder where he got it. Did he buy it himself? And then had my name engraved on the inside even though it was originally meant for Valerie? …I do feel kind of funny wearing something originally meant for another girl, especially Valerie…_

_Jncera's Notes: "I scratched this because I didn't feel like it was very in-character of Sam to fret so much over a piece of jewelry."_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Conversation from lunch with the Mansons with Danny giving an example of a "weird question"<strong>

"Delightful!" Mr. Manson practically clapped, "What kinds of weird questions?"

"Umm…" Danny thought for a moment, staring off into the garden, "This one caught me off guard: 'If aliens landed in front of you and offered you a position on their planet, what would you choose and why?'"

Everyone at the table paused for a second and then started laughing.

"That is quite random!" interjected Mr. Manson, "How on earth did you answer? No pun intended." He chuckled at himself, and Sam almost choked on her broccoli and cheese quiche.

Danny looked over at Sam to make sure she was okay, and then replied, "Well I said I would want to be their leader, and then command that they never make contact with Earth again, and then return back here." He caught Sam's eye and smiled. "I like it here on Earth."

_Jncera's Notes: "I had that in there when the plot originally contained aliens, so it was kind of a foreshadowing. Then, I came up with a new plot, and this conversation just seemed way too corny and out of place."_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Old plot-line where Vlad, still floating on a rock in space, encounters aliens who want to conquer Earth<strong>

A movement to his right caught his eye. It was an object that seemed to be getting larger. Another asteroid? It was moving too fast to be a space rock. Vlad stepped back in shock as it came closer and hovered above him. It was a spaceship… or, well, it looked like a vessel of some sort. It wasn't sleek and shiny like those portrayed in science-fiction movies, but disc-shaped and really…spiky. Before he could further react, a giant metal claw fell from the vessel and grabbed him, pulling him inside. Instead of phasing through, his curiosity burned brighter than caution. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, shapes came to form, and Vlad's jaw dropped.

Aliens, meet Ghost. Ghost, say hi to Aliens.

Oh, these weren't your stereotypical green aliens with disproportionally large eyes set on a disproportionally large head. These looked like a horrific blend of dark brown alien-flesh and machine, yet also strangely human-like. Each alien had what seemed to be bazooka-like weapons surgically attached to each arm. Their legs had no flesh—just bone, and their heads were dark and dome-shaped, void of faces. And they were tall—taller than any human. There were about four surrounding Vlad, staring and silent, and Vlad felt an inkling of terror and apprehension. He raised his guard and readied his ghost powers.

The metal claw holding him suddenly loosened, and returned to somewhere above him. Vlad slowly stood up, still wary of the aliens.

One of the aliens stepped aside and pointed at a holographic image sprouting from a stand nearby. The image was of a floating planet. Vlad took a stepped closer and realized it was an image of Earth!

"Yes, that is where I am from," Vlad answered slowly, unsure if it was pointless to speak. _Did they even understand?_ He followed with a nod.

The alien that pointed at the image of Earth spoke, although the sound seemed to be coming from its torso rather than its head, "How." It was a dark menacing voice tinged with static noise, like a haunted radio.

Vlad stared at the alien's torso, slightly shocked. "How what? How I'm from there?"

"Conquer."

"Ahh, so you want to conquer Earth, and you require my assistance?" Vlad paced around the holographic image of Earth.

"Demand," growled the alien.

Vlad roared in laughter, "No one _demands_ anything from Vlad Plasmius!" He shot a magenta Ghost-Ray at the alien, sending it crashing into a wall.

The other three aliens quickly fired their weapons at Vlad, who simply went intangible. He soared invisibly around the confused aliens, laughing sinisterly. "You can't defeat me! Your weapons of fire and metal have no effect on me."

The aliens stopped firing and looked cautiously around the room, weapons still ready. Their comrade that had fallen lay lifeless on the floor with a steaming hole oozing brown liquid from its chest, right where a human's heart would be located.

"Now, I can help you conquer Earth," growled Vlad, still invisible, "But you'll do it under _my_ terms."

_Jncera's Notes: "This plot idea came to me after watching _Battle:LA_ (good movie, by the way, no matter what the critics say). But then I had a _**better**_ idea."_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Description of Sam's townhouse as Danny wanders around it<strong>

The grand foyer led to a gallery, with an elevator and a spiraling marble staircase with delicate iron banisters. Past the gallery was a grand living room, decorated in classy Old-Age opulence, complete with a grand piano in the middle, glowing from the morning light traveling through the French windows from behind. Danny could see the greenery of the garden beyond.

Danny sipped his tea and walked to the fireplace. Above the mantle was an oil painting of the Mansons. Sam, although her face was serious, she looked…relaxed, yet her violet eyes still remained penetrating and hypnotic. Danny wondered amusingly what sort of bribery or her parents agreed to in exchange for the absence of a scowl.

He returned to the gallery and ascended the stairs to the second floor, which contained a drawing room near the front of the house, and a majestic dining room with a towering ceiling and a glittering gold chandelier, hung over a large mahogany dining table. He could only imagine the chandelier's sparkle during a Manson dinner party, cascading light onto all the jewels and richness of the owners and guests. And, with a silent chuckle, he could also imagine Sam's looks of ennui as she frowned and glared through these events. He's heard one or two stories (correction, _rants_) about them from Sam, and from her opinion, they were the beginning designs of cruel and unusual punishment. The Mansons stopped requiring Sam's presence however, after she gloomed her way through so many that guests were beginning to spread rumors about the Mansons' lack of "child-rearing-etiquette". No doubt that was the reason why Sam wasn't required on these country-club brunches either.

Danny wandered back into the drawing room, richly furnished with leather couches, and mahogany side tables above a lush Oriental rug. There was a harp in the corner next to the fireplace, and Danny stared curiously at it, wondering if Sam knew how to play, but then laughed at the image. Somehow…it just didn't fit.

The third floor only contained a library near the front of the house, as the back was closed off, presumably part of the dining room's high walls and ceiling. The library housed floor to ceiling shelves of books, and comfortable arm-chairs in front of a fireplace (Danny wondered just how many fireplaces one house needed). Danny could only imagine Jazz's delight if she ever stepped into this room. There was a large wooden reading table by the windows as well, and Danny remembered this was where he, Tucker, and Sam had spent an evening studying after being grounded for sneaking off to Freakshow's circus (well, Danny was under mind-control, so he technically didn't sneak off to anything).

Danny ascended the stairs to the floor he knew very well—Sam's bedroom was located here, as well as her grandmother's towards the back. He assumed the last floor above them was where Mr. and Mrs. Manson's room was, along with whatever fancy areas that accompanied it and required an entire floor.

_Jncera's Notes: "I modeled the layout from a floor-plan I found of a NYC townhouse on 5__th__ Ave/Central Park. I took out the scene because it seemed extremely irrelevant. I'm kind of a house-layout-fanatic, so I just went overboard. Also, it would have made the chapter really really long. That's what she said. That didn't make sense."_

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Original discovery of Sam's locket by Danny<strong>

Something bright amongst the crumbled concrete caught his eye. He picked it up and blew away the dirt. When he saw what it was, his breath caught in his throat again. It was Sam's locket—she must have dropped it or…Danny's eyes flashed green. Or Dan had ripped it off and flung it to be buried with Danny. His fingers wrapped around the cold silver heart. _Don't worry Sam; I'm coming for you. Dan will pay for what he did to you._

_Jncera's Notes: "I thought having Valerie find and giving it to Danny would be more symbolic of her "letting go" of Danny. It's also a great contrast to Sam having "Valerie's ring". While that ring was originally meant for Valerie, it had always belonged to Sam, but Sam's locket is entirely hers, and never Valerie's. I think I'm just incoherently rambling now."_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: A Dan and Sam moment<strong>

Sam stopped breathing for a moment as she thought of Danny. She did vaguely remember the deafening noise of what sounded like a torrential rockslide. _Danny's okay; I know he is; he has to be okay._

Dan observed the expression in Sam's eyes, pleased as they changed from a composed calm to dread. "Don't worry little violet," he said as he reached out a finger to stroke her pale cheek, "It was only part of the second floor. I wouldn't let your precious die _that_ easily."

Sam closed her eyes at the touch and drew in a trembling breath, willing herself not to flinch as his icy finger traveled from her cheekbone down to her neck.

_Jncera's Notes: "I just couldn't find a home for this little scene."_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Jncera had a nutty moment during angry Danny vs. I-don't-wanna-fight-you-bro-Dan<strong>

"You have no right to treat Sam like that," replied Dan, still invisible. His voice was steady, but laced with a feeling of regret that was unfortunately lost to his younger self.

Danny's eyes flashed and he felt his head swim with outrage. "Who do you think you _are_—"

Before Danny could finish his sentence, Dan suddenly broke out into song: "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? RUNNIN' ROUND LEAVIN' SCARS, COLLECTING YOUR JAR OF HEARTS, TEARING LOVE APART !"

Danny blinked in surprise. "What the f—"

"YOU'RE GONNA CATCH A COLD, FROM THE ICE INSIDE YOUR SOUL. DON'T COME BACK FOR ME, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

_Jncera's Notes: "…Yeah…this is what happens when you mix Oreos with Christina Perri. Although, if this story were a movie, this scene would have been a fantastic blooper-prank-moment."_


End file.
